Ireland to confirm sanctions against Russia today - Donohoe
Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said he recognised the impact the reality of war could have on Ireland and Europe from the point of view of security and on the economy. Picture: Gareth Chaney/ Collins Photos
The Minister for Finance says he is "gravely concerned" about the human cost of war in Ukraine and the economic impact on Ireland.
A host of nations in the West have already imposed sanctions on Russia for ordering troops into separatist regions of eastern Ukraine. The US, UK, Australia and Germany and the EU have all hit the country with sanctions.
Paschal Donohoe said the independent sovereign state of Ukraine is being undermined by Russia's military action.
Mr Donohoe said he recognised the impact the reality of war could have on Ireland and Europe from the point of view of security and on the economy.
He acknowledged there were consequences for rising costs but said the Government had already put in place measures worth €1.5bn to respond to difficulties facing people due to increased energy prices.
"My first concern is the concern for security on our continent, the future prospect of democracy and the ability of independent governments to make their own decisions.
"And then, of course, alongside that, is a recognition that the prospect or the reality of a war would, of course, have an effect on growth and the economic performance of Ireland and Europe."
Mr Donohoe reiterated that the government will not be providing more supplementary funding for energy bills should prices rise due to sanctions on Russian oil.
"The next point before revising those measures will be the budget in October," he said.
"Of course, I appreciate the consequences and the difficulties that many do face at the moment with rising cost of energy and what that means, but overall, the government has now put in place €1.5bn worth of measures between our budgets and what we announced a couple of weeks ago will respond to the difficulties that we know many are facing."
Ireland currently has a national debt of early €230bn, but the Finance Minister says the government has managed to grow public spending and bring in measures that will help.
“We're already borrowing. We have a very high level of public debt for a country of our scale. It is also worth remembering the growth we have in the economy.”
"What we will be doing is reviewing where we stand across the European Union in a meeting of finance ministers that will be taking place on Friday.
"It's best that we do that in a unified and a coordinated way across Europe," he told RTÉ's Morning Ireland.
"I think it's very understandable for companies that are involved in sectors that have particular links with either EU exports or imports that come from Russia, are of course concerned about what war or sanctions could mean.
"If you look at where our economy stands overall, our exports to Russia are approximately 1% of our national income. Our imports from Russia are approximately 0.5% of our national income.
"But inside that 0.5%, there are sectors that do have a little bit more reliance on Russia than other sectors, but it's understandable that they would raise concerns regarding what could happen, but we are making these decisions inside the context of the security and the ability of states to determine their own future being threatened by unacceptable and illegal behaviour and Ireland does need to be part of the response to that."
The Ambassador of Ukraine to Ireland has warned that Russian military action in the eastern states of Donetsk and Luhansk was a “bad sign” for Ukraine and “all of democracy.”
Larysa Gerasko told that Ukraine was ready to “defend our country.”
Russia had already occupied part of their country when it entered Crimea, she said, and their recent actions were “an invasion of our sovereign state.”
Ukraine had not deployed troops to Donetsk and Luhansk, she said, as they wanted a diplomatic and peaceful resolution.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
