Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)

A parliamentary delegation was in Palestine and Israel last week and the assessment over there is that the perceived threat from Iran and its nuclear programme is having a destabilising effect on its fledgling peace process. There is a belief that within 12 months the enrichment and reprocessing programme will be irreversible and that Iran will have a nuclear weapon manufacturing capability.

Despite the best efforts of the European Union, last Thursday Vice-President Cheney stated that the US may have to take action on this matter and if it does not, he believed that Israel would take action, in other words would make a pre-emptive strike. Does the Minister agree that such intemperate language at a time of delicate negotiation is unhelpful to say the least and at worst almost giving Israel a free hand to use its best judgment to do what it needs to do in regard to the perceived threat from Iran?

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