Sharon Keogan: Backs amendment to protect Irish neutrality
Sharon Keogan spoke in support of an amendment that reaffirms Ireland's military neutrality and limits Irish support for Ukraine to humanitarian, civilian and accountable assistance. She condemned the 2022 invasion as an act of aggression, highlighted the suffering of the Ukrainian people, and warned against channelling funds through EU mechanisms with weak oversight.
Main position
Sharon Keogan backed the amendment on the floor, arguing it reaffirms Ireland's long-held policy of military neutrality while ensuring Irish support for Ukraine remains non-military, humanitarian and grounded in accountability.
Humanitarian focus and protection of civilians
She said the Ukrainian people deserve solidarity and assistance, particularly to protect energy systems, hospitals and essential civilian infrastructure that have been targeted, but emphasised that solidarity should not mean abandoning neutrality or accepting measures that could fund military purposes.
Concerns about corruption and oversight
Keogan highlighted acknowledgements from Ukraine's own anti-corruption agencies about corruption in political, defence and procurement sectors, saying billions have been miscalculated, misallocated and misappropriated and that large-scale loans with diminished checks risk not reaching civilians who need them.
EU financing and national decision-making
She warned against funneling money through EU mechanisms that can be used for military purposes or where oversight is weak, argued nothing prevents member states from providing military loans independently, and said Ireland should not participate in an EU vehicle that blurs the line between humanitarian assistance and military financing.
Defence of doctrine and appeal to colleagues
Keogan described the amendment as a means to protect Ireland's long-standing foreign policy doctrine, argued the EU was never intended to act as a military alliance by proxy, criticised pressure from unelected Brussels bureaucrats and the government's "cluelessness", and urged colleagues to support the Sinn Féin amendment.
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Today I rise in support of the amendment before us, an amendment that reaffirms Ireland's long-held policy of military neutrality, while ensuring that the support we do give to Ukraine is humanitarian, civilian and grounded in accountability. Let me be absolutely clear, the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 was an act of aggression, driven by expansionist ambition, and the suffering endured by the Ukrainian people since then has been immense. They deserve solidarity, compassion and assistance, particularly in the protection of energy systems, hospitals and essential civilian infrastructure that has been relentlessly targeted. But solidarity does not require that Ireland abandons its own principle and blindly signs anything Brussels sends us. It does not require that we funnel money through EU mechanisms that can be used for military purposes, and it certainly does not require that we sign blank checks into systems where oversight is weak. As I said before, Ukraine's own anti-corruption agencies have acknowledged the scale of corruption within the country's political, defence and procurement sectors. Billions have been miscalculated and misallocated and misappropriated over the past decade. This is not a judgment on the Ukrainian people who have fought bravely and honourably, but an acknowledgement of the government's reality. When we are to provide large-scale loans with diminished checks and balances, it is only responsible to ask, will these funds reach the civilians who truly need them? Furthermore, in the middle of the talks of the Russians repaying the loan or how Ukraine needs it for reconstruction, there seems to be an exactly zero serious consideration of what the actual end of this conflict will look like. This should force us to be extra considerate in the nature of our support to a nation at war. This amendment does something simple and sensible. It ring fences Ireland's participation strictly for non-military, humanitarian and civilian purposes. That is consistent with our neutrality and with our values. We support Ukraine, but we will not be drawn by stealth or by pressure into EU level financing of war, either by unelected Brussels bureaucrats or by the cluelessness of our government. There is nothing stopping member states who wish to provide military loans from doing so independently. But Ireland should not compromise its neutrality by participating in an EU vehicle that blurs the line between humanitarian assistance and military financing. This amendment protects our long-standing foreign policy doctrine and respects the fact that the EU was never intended to act as a military alliance by proxy. For those reasons, I support the Sinn Féin amendment and I urge all colleagues in this house to treat the same.
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