International Developments: Statements Dail Éireann — 2026-01-21 ============================================================ Paul Murphy (PBP), Dublin South-West Donald Trump is a monster. The one good thing about him is that he exposes the monstrous reality of the imperialist and capitalist world system we live in. It is a system that is ugly, bloody and brutal and in which might is right, profits matter for all and people matter for nothing. He has done away with the fig leaf of international law and exposed the US's naked and violent imperialism for everyone to see. One of the things exposed by Trump is the subordinate position of the European Union. In Davos yesterday, the Prime Minister of Belgium, Bart De Wever is reported as saying: Until now, we tried to appease the new president in the White House.... But now so many red lines are being crossed ... Being a happy vassal is one thing. Being a miserable slave is something else. There we have it. The highest aspiration of European leaders is to be a "happy vassal" to the US. Is the Minister of State a happy vassal or is he a miserable slave? Despite all the evidence of the results of appeasement, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Lowry group continue with their boot-licking and their attempts at appeasement. After the US funding, arming and supporting the genocide in Gaza for over two years and the apartheid state of Israel for decades, the Government is still appeasing Trump. It is scandalously breaking the promise it made to the electorate on the occupied territories Bill. It was practically silent when it came to the kidnapping of President Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, the killing of dozens of Venezuelans and Cubans and the injuring of over 100. The Government now says it will give consideration to the board of peace plans. It says it attaches the highest importance to the UN Charter but, in reality, it is part of the process of tearing up that charter. That is what getting rid of the triple lock is about. It is now in a bind because of the threats to Greenland. Ordinary people want the Government to stand up, not to give the President the shamrock on St. Patrick's Day. and to stop the US's use of Shannon Airport. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-21/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-31T01:00:51+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-01-21