Some 100,000 people marched on our streets in opposition to this war. While I support those people, I abhor the brutal regime of Saddam Hussein. Does the matter have to be settled by war? Can we not first exhaust the use of diplomatic means to try to achieve a resolution to the problems in Iraq? I am unhappy with the way in which our Government has agreed to allow the overflights and refuelling in Shannon. I deplore the fact that the United Nations was ignored and that we did not take enough time to pursue a diplomatic resolution. Why was more time not accorded to Hans Blix who believed that a peaceful resolution could be found? I cannot understand why we rushed into this situation. We needed more time and it should have been provided.