EU raises plan for new €20bn military aid package for Ukraine

The European Union is working on a new €20 billion package of military support for Ukraine to run over five years, which has been raised informally in recent weeks, with the Irish Government and others.

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said on Sunday he had alerted the Cabinet that this proposal was “coming down the tracks”.

He said if it was agreed, Ireland would provide only non-lethal aid.

Ireland has already given €122 million in non-lethal military assistance to Ukraine.

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Mr Martin told The Irish Times in New York he would be announcing a further €23 million in Government aid to Ukraine at the United Nations in the coming days.

He said it had emerged informally over the summer that the EU wanted to put on a longer-term footing the military assistance to Ukraine, which it has been providing under the European peace facility.

Mr Martin said the EU was now in for the long haul in supporting Ukraine and the plan being discussed would involve a fund of about €20 billion over a five-year period.

“We would be part of that in non-lethal aid context,” he said.

[ Protesters demand ending to Irish military training for Ukraine ]

[ Irish troops to provide weapons training to Ukraine despite Government’s ‘non-lethal’ assistance pledge ]

[ Ukraine war: key village near Bakhmut recaptured, says Zelenskiy ]

Mr Martin also said that a new international declaration to provide momentum to the implementation of sustainable development goals, such as eradicating hunger and promoting education, was “nearly there”.

The new declaration, which Irish diplomats have played a key role in negotiating, may be announced on Monday at a United Nations summit, addressed by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

The sustainable development goals were originally agreed nearly a decade ago but are way behind schedule in terms of implementation.

Later this week, Mr Martin will announce the provision of a further €23 million to Ukraine. This will include €13 million in humanitarian funding, €8 million in World Bank funding for Ukraine and Moldova and €2 million for specific reconstruction projects such as 75 prefabricated houses to support communities affected by the war.

The Tánaiste also said he expected to receive the report on the forum on international security policy in the coming weeks and the Government would go back to the Oireachtas with any measures it thought was needed.

The Minister said he was concerned about staffing levels in the Naval Service but that military recruitment was a global problem. He said “radical” measures needed to be considered in terms of recruitment and retention in the Irish Defence Forces.

“In terms of our approach to training, very often it is if you don’t cut it you are out. Whereas if someone has an interest in becoming a member of our Defence Forces, we should be trying to nurture them along to enable them to be a member. The psychology has to change.”

[ Budget 2024: Health and education cost reductions being considered, says Martin ]

He also said there should be a more pragmatic approach taken to the recruitment of specialists.

Mr Martin said he would be meeting United States politicians this week and would again set out Ireland’s opposition to the British government proposals on dealing with legacy issues in Northern Ireland. He said he expected legal advice shortly about taking action against the move.

He said Ireland favoured a “victim-centred approach” and that he had a real issue about suppressing inquests and various investigations.

The Tánaiste said relations with London had improved significantly over the last 12 months but there had been no meeting of minds on the legacy issue. He said the British government was aware that Dublin was coming under pressure about taking a court case on the issue.