Paul Murphy opposes sending Irish troops to Ukraine
Paul Murphy responded to comments by Fine Gael's Heather Humphreys about sending Irish troops to Ukraine and challenged the idea that a Russian veto should not block deployment. He said he opposes sending Irish troops to participate in a war against Russia, called for the immediate unconditional withdrawal of Russian forces, and insisted Ukrainians must decide their own future.
Paul Murphy directly confronted remarks made on a radio debate by Fine Gael's Heather Humphreys, asking whether she supported sending Irish troops to Ukraine without Russian consent. He accused his opponents of distorting positions and of ignoring his prior statement in the House that he and his colleagues would not join a reassurance force.
Murphy argued that deploying Irish troops without Russian consent would expose them to grave danger and would make them appear as hostile forces to Russia. He warned such a deployment would be part of a NATO or EU-led military intervention rather than an international peacekeeping mission.
He reiterated his opposition to the Russian invasion and called for the immediate unconditional withdrawal of all forces. Murphy emphasised the right of ordinary people in Ukraine to decide their own future and rejected conscripting Irish troops into that conflict.
Murphy accused political opponents of selective criticism on international issues and said they had been soft on Russia in earlier years. He referenced reactions to the 2014 Crimea invasion and criticised repeated formulaic language about Russia and other international actors.
Direct challenge to a presidential candidate
Paul Murphy directly confronted remarks made on a radio debate by Fine Gael's Heather Humphreys, asking whether she supported sending Irish troops to Ukraine without Russian consent. He accused his opponents of distorting positions and of ignoring his prior statement in the House that he and his colleagues would not join a reassurance force.
Distinction between peacekeeping and combat deployment
Murphy argued that deploying Irish troops without Russian consent would expose them to grave danger and would make them appear as hostile forces to Russia. He warned such a deployment would be part of a NATO or EU-led military intervention rather than an international peacekeeping mission.
Call for withdrawal and Ukrainian self-determination
He reiterated his opposition to the Russian invasion and called for the immediate unconditional withdrawal of all forces. Murphy emphasised the right of ordinary people in Ukraine to decide their own future and rejected conscripting Irish troops into that conflict.
Accusations of hypocrisy and historical reference
Murphy accused political opponents of selective criticism on international issues and said they had been soft on Russia in earlier years. He referenced reactions to the 2014 Crimea invasion and criticised repeated formulaic language about Russia and other international actors.
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Transcript
T-shirt, your former cabinet colleague and now your preferred choice for president, Fine Gael's Heather Humphreys, was on a radio debate about a week ago where she said that Irish troops should not be stopped from being sent to Ukraine by a Russian veto. Is that your position, T-shirt? Are you in favour of sending Irish troops to Ukraine without Russian consent? That would mean placing their lives in very serious danger, as they would be seen as hostile forces by Russia if they were sent there, despite Russia's opposition. It would also presumably mean that there wouldn't be no peace agreement, they would not be peacekeeping troops. In other words, they would be part of a NATO or EU-led military intervention rather than an international peacekeeping force. To be clear, I am opposed to the Russian invasion. I call for the unconditional withdrawal. I call for the right of ordinary people in Ukraine to decide, but I am against Irish troops, the right of ordinary people in Ukraine to decide what their future is, but I am against sending Irish troops to participate. That is why I am calling for the immediate unconditional... It is weasel language. How is it? How is it? I am calling for people... I think it is... It is the classic formulaic stuff from you. Chair, can I appeal to the Chair to stop the T-shirt intervening? I apologise. Thank you. So I will restate the basic points in case I am opposed to the criminal invasion. I call for the immediate withdrawal of all forces. It is for the right of Ukrainian people themselves to decide their future, not for Russia to decide. But I am against sending Irish troops to participate in a war against Russia and Ukraine. I am asking you whether you agree with your presidential candidate that that is what you think it is to do. I do regret having to interrupt, but I just note your language is fascinating. You deliberately ignored what I had said earlier when I said I had made a commitment, we made it very clear to the coalition that we wouldn't be part of a reassurance force. I said that in the House. And then I said that we would be willing to be part of the peacekeeping force if it was to monitor the ceasefire line, for example. And yet you just ignored it and tried to implicate that we would be conscripting Irish troops to a war in Ukraine. You do distort the situation. That is what you are saying. You said send Irish troops to war. No, no. You know that the presidential candidate is talking about the peacekeeping force. But you just choose. And then you use language like I oppose. What about I condemn? It is very formulaic. I have noticed it over the years. You guys, look how many times do you talk about Russia in the House. You will talk about the United States until the coast comes home. You will talk about the European Union until the coast comes home. But you do not talk about Iran, you do not talk about Russia, you do not talk about all the others who break. No. And again, Ukraine people have decided. Like Ukraine people have decided a long time ago that they want to belong. I didn't. That's the other bit of the language you used. It's up to Ukraine to decide as if there's an issue. Like Ukraine have decided on their self-determination. But you, of course, because you guys are never being sympathetic to Ukraine, if the truth be told. That's the bottom line. Sinn Féin were with you in 2011 when Crimea was invaded or 2014. I read all your stuff, the Sinn Féin line about Nazis in Ukraine and all the rest of it. You guys were soft underbelly for the Russians for a long, long time.