John Minihan (Progressive Democrats)

I endorse the comments of the previous speakers. I spoke on this issue in the House last week and I ask the Leader again to convey to the Minister for Foreign Affairs that the time has come for us to be seen to take action. We should voice our concerns. The Minister should talk to the US ambassador and we should have a commitment from the Government, particularly the Taoiseach, that this matter will be raised with President Bush during his forthcoming visit to Ireland. We need to send out this message clearly because if the United States cannot listen to friends who say the abuses in Iraq are not acceptable, it will listen to no one. We can and should convey our message in a responsible manner. The Irish people demand it. The images are unacceptable.

On the specifics of the issue, there are serious questions to be asked as to the level on which the abuses happened. There is a difference between the behaviour of professional soldiers and that of reservists and those operating under the control of CIA operatives. This point needs to be made and to suggest otherwise is not fair to professionals of good reputation who would not operate in the manner depicted in the images.