Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State. I realise time is short for discussing this important issue so I will try to keep my comments as brief as possible.

The issues in the Middle East, whether it is the Palestinian conflict or the situations in Iraq or Iran, are all deeply profound and have been debated ad nauseam in this House. It is regrettable that since we last spoke, all these situations have worsened. Now the urgency of a response from the international community is more important than ever. I agree with most of what the Minister of State has said to some degree. The question now, however, is where the political priorities lie and what the emphasis will be.

The conflict in the Middle East over the summer months was tragic and disastrous. While recognising the right of Israel to defend itself, its response to the initial dispute was very much over the top and has caused very grave difficulties. We recognise that the two-state solution which we have spoken about so often in this House — the so-called Quartet roadmap solution — is the only political show in town. It is a question of trying to get that process back on the road to have political attention focused on this issue. Without a permanent political solution, the sad events of the summer will be repeated.

The Israeli response was excessive, has caused enormous humanitarian hardship and left an enormous level of civilian casualties in its wake. It has undone much of the good economic work achieved in rebuilding Lebanon in recent years and that is regrettable. The civil war in Lebanon from 1975 to the early 1990s profoundly damaged that country. We thought that trend had been reversed but, alas, the tragedy of the summer conflicts has made matters worse.

Obviously there was a need for the international community and the United Nations to intervene. Fine Gael is very happy to welcome the decision of the Government to deploy a contingent of the Defence Forces in the Lebanon. We have a very long and distinguished record in this regard and Irish soldiers will play a genuinely constructive role locally. Our efforts in this regard will be helpful. One of the issues which the Fine Gael Dáil spokesman on defence, Deputy Timmins, has raised with the Government is the need for the Joint Committee on Justice Equality Defence and Women's Rights to take a much greater hands-on role in reviewing this issue. He has urged that the committee have its remit considered. That is something I hope the Minister for Defence will consider.

The situation in Iraq this has been debated in this House on five or six occasions over the past two years. Sadly, it has become even more tragic. At a conservative estimate hundreds of civilians lose their lives there every day and it is a civil war situation. What can be done? The invasion and what it has caused can be replayed over and over. A shocking statistic, which claims more than 600,000 people have died as a result of the Iraq conflict, was released last week. I am not sure how accurate it is — it is probably being disputed. Killing on that scale is shocking. It shows the invasion and its aftermath has not solved a problem but rather made it worse.

Where do we go from here? Pressure is mounting for the withdrawal of British and American troops. I am not a military expert and I am not sure what the immediate effect of such a withdrawal would be. Someone needs to take charge. It is now time for the United Nations to call an international conference bringing together all the parties involved to put in place a roadmap that charts the way forward. We cannot stand by and leave things as they are. While it is easy to be critical we must try to be constructive. There must surely now be political will in both London and Washington to find a solution to this dreadful morass of murder and mayhem. A UN-sponsored international conference would allow some degree of dialogue and might determine the bones of a long-term settlement. The number of deaths reported is a human tragedy on an unimaginable scale.

The other issue that needs to be urgently examined is the reconstruction money committed for the rebuilding of Iraq. A UN Security Council resolution in May of 2003 established a development fund for Iraq. This fund was to preside over the spending of moneys from Iraqi oil and other seized assets to help rebuild the country. There are doubts about how this money is being spent. There are questions about its practical impact and whether the citizens of Iraq are benefiting from it. These are significant moneys and their expenditure needs to be investigated. We must try to ensure some degree of help, hope and confidence is given to Iraqi citizens. The United Nations should also examine this issue.

I concur with what the Minister of State has said about Iran. It is opportune to speak about Iran's nuclear programme when we have seen what has happened in North Korea in recent days. We can be critical of the United Nations from time to time — sometimes we can be critical of the critics of the UN — yet when Iran, North Korea, or rogue states appear to give two fingers to it, it makes the UN look powerless. We must redouble our political engagement with Iran to ensure its nuclear capability is not used for destructive military purposes. The region will become much more dangerous if Iran is allowed to develop nuclear weapons.

The scale of the threat from North Korea must be a lesson to us as to what can happen. I am unsure of the full military capability of North Korea's nuclear weaponry. Unless the international community pulls together, what is happening in North Korea today could happen in Iran tomorrow. The UN is the only hope for taking charge of this process. It may need reform and more teeth, but it is the only show in town. Whether it is a conference to deal with Iraq, or a get-together to deal with Iran, the Government must work to have the UN redouble its negotiation and mediation efforts.