John Minihan (Progressive Democrats)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and compliment him on his speech, his ongoing commitment to his portfolio and on the provision of humanitarian aid to Iraq. It is vital that we continue as a House of the Oireachtas to debate Iraq and highlight issues we feel are important. We cannot abdicate our international responsibilities particularly to the less well off.

It is often said that winning the war is easy and winning the peace is difficult. The latter is the stage we are at now. Unless we properly manage direct aid to Iraq, we are in danger of Iraq becoming saturated with food aid which is not directed at the people in greatest need. I worry about this because reports from Iraq indicate that food aid is being sold by black market operators. I urge the Minister of State to use what influence he has to ensure that the food aid programme remains under continuous review and serves the people in greatest need and the least privileged members of Iraqi society. This cannot happen without the establishment of functioning government and the rule of law.