The Oireachtas, and society in general, has been debating the rights and wrongs of the war in Iraq. Opinion about the conflict is divided, as has been demonstrated in recent polls. It is fitting, therefore, that we should debate the matter, but we were never going to have any real say about the conflict or veto over it. We could take a moral stance but we were in no position to stop the war or influence the participants. Since the United Nations was unable to stop the war, it was unlikely this House would be able to.