David Norris (Independent)

Following on from Senator Kitt's comments, I noticed the amounts provided by the Government and they are small in terms of the needs of Iraq but I am glad of that. It is not the duty of this or other European countries whose people massively opposed this illegal war to clean up the mess after the Americans. They waltzed in there with their own intentions, which were principally profit and power, and now they are looking to us to clean up the mess after them. We should be tough in dealing with them.

I compliment my colleague, Senator Henry, on raising the question of Guantanamo Bay and putting it in the context of the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi because the Americans have shattered respect for international law and they are still illegally sequestering people and holding them in impossible conditions at Guantanamo Bay. Until these issues are resolved, we should not help them to clean up the mess they have created as the result of a tissue of lies.

Could we have a debate on the Irish film industry and, in particular, the tax provisions which are in some difficulty? The president of the Motion Picture Association of America visited Ireland during the week. The film industry in America is powerful and he made it perfectly clear that if the Government persists with its intention of removing these incentives, Ireland will not be at the fair. We have a tremendous pool of talent in terms of technical people and actors and we have wonderful locations but we will put ourselves totally out of step with every other country in Europe if we do not have tax breaks. It is in our interest to maintain them. It may be unpopular because people want new hospitals and so on but jobs and income must be generated. I will support the Government if its wishes to maintain this tax incentive because it is important.