First, this is reckless. This is €90 billion over a two-year period we are going to sign over without any financial oversight or any real guarantees in terms of who is going to spend or pay over this money. It is said the Russians will pay in terms of repatriation. I highly doubt that will ever happen. It will be the Irish taxpayer who will end up footing the bill for this loan. There is also the question of neutrality, which the Irish people support but this Government clearly does not. We know where it stands on the triple lock and we know where it stands on this. There are no guarantees or certainties in relation to where this money will be spent. Will it be spent on guns, tanks or ammunition? The truth is that the Minister cannot answer that question because this is like a blank cheque. That is what Government is going to do by signing this. I ask the Minister not to support this, to accept the amendment and let us be like the Hungarians and the Czech Republic and so on, and not tie ourselves to a financial loan without the proper scrutiny that is absolutely necessary here.

Sentiment score: 0.05