Irish Examiner view: EU solidarity with Ukraine goes to the heart of the European project

The European Council's decision to give Ukraine an additional €50bn support package is a highly welcome show of support

Burnt-out cars and a destroyed apartment block in Kharkiv as a result of a Russian missile attack last week. Sergey Bobok/AFP/Getty

Brussels summit

The conflict in Gaza has been a dominant news story since October, and one of the consequences has been the effective disappearance of the Ukraine war from public consciousness.

To a large extent, the latter conflict now exists in ongoing disputes about how refugees from Ukraine are accommodated here, with disinformation stoked by xenophobia the order of the day.

What has been largely forgotten is the fact that a savage war continues on the fringes of Europe.

In just the last few days, for instance, Ukraine launched drone attacks on St Petersburg, the home town of Russian president Vladimir Putin, while Russia attacked Kharkiv at night with drones. On the diplomatic front, Ukraine has criticised Russia’s unwillingness to repatriate the remains of Ukrainian prisoners of war who died in a recent air crash.

Such developments, however, are not the stuff of headlines in the way they were a few short months ago.

Our attention may refocus on this conflict, however, given yesterday’s news from Brussels, where European Council president Charles Michel said the 27 EU countries had sealed a deal on aid to Ukraine despite threats from Hungary to veto the move. 

The 27 leaders agreed on an additional €50bn support package for Ukraine, a considerable statement of solidarity. The fact that the deal came through just an hour into the summit raised eyebrows, but that does not detract from the show of support for Ukraine, which is made all the more powerful by its unanimity.

That unanimity is necessary now. 

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may be making countries such as Poland and the Baltic States more nervous than Ireland, thousands of miles from the conflict zone, but that underlines the need for solidarity, a basic principle of the European project. Ukraine deserves the support of the EU and it is encouraging that that country’s struggle for survival has not been forgotten.

Change for the greater good

The deposit return scheme came into effect yesterday. It sees a refundable deposit or levy added to certain drinks containers in shops — 15c or 25c, depending on size.

This deposit can be claimed back by returning empty containers once they are not damaged; containers can be returned to any shop that sells drink containers with the Re-turn logo, not necessarily the same shop they were bought from. This is a good idea in principle because it should foreground recycling, raise consciousness about the environment, and cut down on unsightly litter. That said, teething problems can be expected: They are inevitable in any large-scale initiative such as this.

What is also inevitable, unfortunately, is a variety of complaints from businesses and associated interest groups. It has been said that implementing the scheme may raise costs because of the collection infrastructure and changes necessary for retail floor space, as well as the possibility of staff training for the new systems. There may also be implications for businesses’ cashflow depending on how customers avail of the returned deposits.

It should be acknowledged that recent closures in the retail trade — particularly the hospitality sector — prove that we are in challenging times for businesses.

However, some of the potential issues mentioned above will surely be offset by greater footfall as customers return bottles and containers, while staff training and cash flow challenges are likely to be temporary challenges at worst.

In addition, customers and businesses alike must acknowledge that changes in behaviour are necessary for the benefit of the environment and the wider community. If such changes involve temporary inconveniences for the greater good, then those will have to be accommodated. This scheme is hardly more challenging to implement than the smoking ban, for instance, yet that was accepted almost immediately. A good omen for the deposit return scheme.

Time for reform at RTÉ

Another week, another stunning revelation about RTÉ’s chaotic finances. In this case, it was the redundancy package for RTÉ’s former chief financial officer Breda O’Keeffe, agreed directly with former director general Dee Forbes, on the basis that €200,000 a year would be saved. Unfortunately, that saving never materialised.

One can expect the usual markers at the usual intervals for such stories: Outrage from RTÉ staff, disapproval from Media Minister Catherine Martin, promises from RTÉ’s Kevin Bakhurst, apologies from RTÉ board chairwoman Siún Ní Raghallaigh. 

What may be more interesting in the long term was a document released by RTÉ this week on a proposed new direction for the State broadcaster, one relying on extensive consultation with the public, stakeholders, and RTÉ staff.

Significantly, there was a welcome for the proposition that “RTÉ should become a smaller organisation in pursuit of longer-term financial stability”, with 71% of the public agreeing, and 64% agreement among RTÉ staff.

On a related matter, 72% of the public and 69% of RTÉ staff agreed that “RTÉ should make fewer programmes in Dublin, and more outside of Dublin". 

Taken in conjunction with Ms Martin’s pre-Christmas musing on direct taxpayer funding of RTÉ (a move which would see the TV licence fee abolished) the next few years may see huge changes in how RTÉ operates.

On that basis, it is worth considering that in the survey mentioned above, 71% of stakeholders and 67% of staff believed “that RTÉ is serious about transforming into a better-run organisation". 

Based on revelations these past few months, the organisation needs to become even more serious about that transformation.