Brendan Ryan (Labour)

Regarding the unfortunate circumstances in Iraq and the kidnapping of a fine, brave woman, it is ironic that she was able to work freely in Iraq for the past 35 years without suffering anything like what she is suffering now. We all deplore it. I agree with Senator O'Toole that if people in western countries preach from a position of moral superiority, morality must be indivisible. The fundamental wrong which has devalued the capacity of countries like Ireland to have influence is our selective approach to saying something is deplorable. While we all agree that the murder by suicide bombers in Israel of perhaps 100 children over the past number of years was deplorable, 600 Palestinian children were killed by the Israeli defence forces in the same period. That is also deplorable.

To invade a country without a strategic plan as to how to sustain and restore civic society, political institutions and infrastructure was an act of political and military vandalism. This act is now playing into the hands of people who have in common with the invaders of Iraq an indifference to any idea of morality and a belief that a political objective, however desirable, justifies whatever means are necessary to achieve it. While I do not appeal to anybody to apologise for the removal of Saddam Hussein, to remove him while precipitating circumstances in which the conditions of the people of Iraq are becoming worse than they were under his rule demands not just an apology, but a fundamental reappraisal of policy by every western government. In that context, the kidnapping of civilians is deplorable and we all appeal for the release of Ms Hassan.

A conference on less lethal weapons is taking place in Dublin this week. Less lethal weapons are, presumably, those which do not kill quite as many people as lethal weapons. A senior officer of the Garda has participated in the conference which is, unintentionally, a statement which legitimises the business of dual-purpose weapons. Sometimes such weapons are used for crowd control and sometimes they are used as instruments of torture. A moral question is involved and I ask the Government to make it clear that the conference was a once-off event. In future, we must endeavour to ensure that such conferences do not happen here.

I hope the Government issues a comprehensive statement on the final outcome of the Chen case in the immediate future. The Government's position is that immigration matters must be transparent. Last week, I tried to obtain from the Asylum Appeals Tribunal a simple answer as to whether people giving evidence before it were required to do so under oath. I was told I had to put the question in writing and that it would take ten days to get a reply. A body which is meant to be transparent and open could not give me an answer on request as the only person permitted to respond would only do so if the question was submitted in writing. It turned out that the person in question had gone on holiday and that it would take ten days for an answer to issue. That is not a transparent process and it does not give one confidence in the body.