Taoiseach disagrees with O’Neill over Ukraine missiles order comments

By David Young, PA

The Taoiseach has made clear he disagrees with the Northern Ireland First Minister’s apparent criticism of a large order for a Belfast factory to supply missiles for Ukraine.

Sinn Féin vice president Michelle O’Neill told the Stormont Assembly this week that she was “incredulous” at the deal for the Thales plant in east Belfast.

It was announced at the weekend that Thales is to supply 5,000 air defence missiles to Ukraine in a deal worth up to £1.6 billion (€2 billion).

The contract will be funded by a loan underwritten by United Kingdom Export Finance (UKEF).

UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said on Sunday that the order for the lightweight-multirole missiles (LMM) would create 200 jobs.

However, Ms O’Neill told the Assembly on Monday that said she found the deal “incredulous” at a time of public service cuts, winter fuel payment cuts, national insurance hikes and inheritance tax changes for farmers.

Her comments prompted criticism from the DUP, her partners in the coalition government at Stormont, who accused Sinn Féin of hypocrisy for supporting Ukraine’s right to defend itself at the same time as apparently criticising an order to supply it with weapons to do so.

Mr Martin was asked about the First Minister’s remarks as he arrived for an engagement to mark the UK Ireland political summit in Liverpool.

He said he had always been an advocate of peace but he understood the reason for the order as he made clear Ukraine needed the capacity to defend itself.

“I wouldn’t agree with the First Minister on that,” he said.

“Nobody likes the utilisation of weapons. I certainly don’t. All my life I’ve been on the peace side of the equation. I still am, and I do want durable peace within Ukraine. I also want peace in the Middle East. I want peace in Sudan, which very few people are talking about.

“But it’s Russia that illegally invaded Ukraine three years ago. That’s the reality. Ten per cent of Russian national income has been spent on militarisation. People are afraid of that. People are worried about that.”

He added: “Collectively, people are coming to the conclusion that Europe needs to improve and enhance its capability in order to have a deterrence there to avoid any attempted encroachment on any member state of the European Union.”