Joe McHugh (Fine Gael)

I thank the Acting Chairman for his intervention. I appreciate that he has much more experience than I in this regard. The situation in Iraq is serious, as is that in Northern Ireland. We have tried everything and are faced with a grave problem in Iraq. A solution will not be found overnight or in the short or medium term. We must weigh up every aspect and angle, including UN intervention. At the outset of this debate one year ago, my ambition was for the UN to be sent in and not the US. However, that might not have worked and the Iraqi people might have regarded the UN as an imperial power. We might have faced the same democratic deficit and war as is currently the case. Should we look at a UN composition of Muslims or one that reflects a broad range of Sunni and Shia Muslims and Kurds? We should consider every possible aspect in order to move the situation forward.

Returning to the issue of Northern Ireland, we cannot get the DUP, Sinn Féin, the SDLP and the UUP to sit around a table and form a power-sharing executive. However, we would regard ourselves in Northern Ireland as a more civilised environment than Iraq. The situation will not be resolved overnight and requires further debate and whatever intervention is necessary.

We are currently faced with a capital imperialism, a contradictory fusion of the politics of state and empire and the molecular processes of capital accumulation in space and time. Many people advocate a debate on the major environmental and territorial causes of war. It is not a simple war on terror or one regarding oil and gas. Rather it is a question of resources. Michael T. Klare argues: "As shortages of critical materials rise in frequency and severity, the competition for access to the remaining supplies of these commodities will grow more intense". That is something on which the Minister of State might dwell.

Population increase and economic development in different parts of the world mean that demand for resources is expanding at a faster rate than nature can accommodate. It is estimated that two thirds of the world's known petroleum reserves will be consumed in the next 20 years. The result will be temporary or chronic shortages in different parts of the world.

War is not just about money or making a simplistic connection in terms of 11 September, Iraq and al-Qaeda. The causes are ethnic, cultural, ideological, environmental and economic. This is a major debate and I welcome the opportunity to speak on it. Long may the debate continue.