Ireland must dedicate 0.25% of its national GDP to supporting Ukraine – Doherty

Ireland must join its EU counterparts and deliver no less than 0.25% of its national GDP to combatting the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia, a Fine Gael Senator has said.

Senator Regina Doherty, Fine Gael’s European Election candidate for Dublin, has pledged her support for the recommendations outlined in the EPP Group’s plan for the victory of Ukraine.

Senator Doherty said: “The war in Ukraine has entered a dangerous phase. Russia is threatening to gain the upper hand and the Ukrainian defence needs all the support that can be given. We should be clear, the illegal invasion of Ukraine represents an attack on all Europeans and our European values of freedom and democracy, as well as the rights of free countries to decide their own futures. Russia cannot be allowed to win by increasing Western complacency.

“That is why I support the call by the EPP Group, the largest group in the European Parliament, for all EU Member States to do more to back Ukraine. They have pointed out that “despite the fact that the combined Western GDP is 25 times larger than Russia’s GDP, in 2023, Western military support to Ukraine amounted to 0.1% of Western GDP, while Russia spent more than 6% of its GDP on military aggression and Ukraine spent around 25% of its GDP for its defence.

“Many EU countries are already well above the 0.25% target. Lithuania’s and Estonia’s military support to Ukraine has exceeded 1.2% of their respective GDPs. Germany’s support has now reached 0.43% and is growing.

“Ireland has decided to focus on sending non-military aid to Ukraine, in contrast to many of our EU partners. We can continue to focus our support in this area while also aiming to meet the target of 0.25% of GDP. This should not stop us examining all the other ways we can best support Ukraine into the future. While we are militarily neutral, we cannot be impartial when a small country is brutally invaded by its larger neighbour.”

“If I am elected to the European Parliament, I will always vote to support Ukraine and support EU values of freedom, democracy, tolerance, and human rights,” Senator Doherty concluded.