The world will not have a second chance like it did after the second World War should a major geopolitical conflict arise, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has warned.
He was speaking in the Dáil as Labour leader Ivana Bacik highlighted a number of international conflicts including the war in Ukraine, the violent repression of protesters in Iran and the “increasingly despotic US”.
She wanted to know how the State would respond when it took up the presidency of the EU in July and “faces a showdown between Boston and Berlin”.
The Taoiseach said he was “struck in this House that we always end up with the US as the big baddie”, adding that the “real showdown of substance” was Russia versus Europe.
“There is a problem at the top in terms of the authority and credibility of the international rules-based order,” he said.
“I worry we are in a similar situation to what pre-dated the second World War when the League of Nations’ authority was eroded. We know what happened then.
“The world got a chance after the second World War. We will not get another chance after any confrontation that may arise if the geopolitical situation gets worse.”
He said “Iran has been invisible in any discussion on the Middle East”.
“We need a sense of perspective,” Mr Martin said. He pointed to Iran as “fundamentally, a malign influence in the Middle East through Hizbullah , Hamas and its behaviour in Syria in support of the Assad regime”.
“We stand with the people of Iran in terms of their right to freedom of assembly, of speech and to associate and the need for a new form of government in Iran that is democratically based and facilitates the flourishing of those freedoms.”
Stressing the real conflict was Russia versus the EU, he highlighted the “ illegal invasion of Ukraine” and “an appalling attack on the infrastructure of Ukraine” with “incredible loss of life”.
Ms Bacik acknowledged the threat from Russia that continued to “reign terror upon the people of Ukraine”, while adding: “We see courageous pro-democracy protesters being massacred by the highly repressive regime in Iran.”
However, she pointed to the “trend towards authoritarianism and warmongering also happening from a country that, for decades, has been an ally for Europe”.
“We have seen Trump’s administration in Washington, even just in recent weeks, becoming increasingly erratic, volatile and dangerous.”
She said that while Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro was a “brutal leader without democratic legitimacy”, US president Donald Trump had “committed an outrageous and flagrant breach of international law through intervening by military force” in his abduction.
“No one can say we were not warned,” she said.
“When authoritarian rulers tell us what they plan to do, we must listen and we must act,” Ms Bacik said. “We are facing a stark reality now – we can only call it imperialist warmongering by the US.”
She continued: “When we are seeing authoritarianism spreading across the world from countries like Russia, Iran and China, we need our allies to stand with us.
“Right now, we cannot rely on the US as a functioning peaceful democracy.”
The Taoiseach said “Ireland’s unequivocal position is to support the international rules-based order and UN”. The Government wants reform of the UN and believes Africa should be represented on the security council and other major blocs. “The security council is outdated in terms of composition and membership,” he said.
He added: “We support the peaceful resolution of disputes through the multilateral frameworks without question. That will be our position when we have the presidency of the EU.”