Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

I return to the question of Iraq which has been raised on a number of occasions and perhaps the Leader will give due consideration to providing time for a debate. The reason I raise this matter is that the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Cowen, who is President of the Council, was in New York last week. In the past few days we have seen more horrific images from Baghdad and other cities where over 100 pilgrims were massacred as a result of internal strife. It is obvious the country is descending into civil war, yet political initiatives are under way in which the Minister is directly involved as a result of him holding the EU Presidency of the Council of Ministers. It would be relevant if the Minister would come to the House to outline the recent initiatives in the context of a political settlement in Iraq and to explain what attempts are being made to end the loss of what is almost certainly civilian life as distinct from military life in Iraq.