Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

It is a long way from Baghdad to Croke Park, and he started so well.

I support Senator Mansergh. I also ask the Leader to convey the thanks of the House, since the European Union and Ireland, by extension, issued a very strong condemnation of the death penalty sentence. Tensions are running very high in Iraq, as I am sure Members are aware. Essentially, the Shia community is delighted at the sentence and it has had the opposite impact on the Sunnai community. In the context of a debate on Iraq, it should be noted that the country is running into civil war. There is currently a television strand running on Channel 4, which I commend to Members. It shows in great detail the breakdown of communities in Iraq. Undoubtedly, there is now a substantial amount of evidence in support of allegations that members of the Iraqi Administration are fomenting sectarian civil war within the various communities. We have gone beyond the point when the so-called coalition of the willing is there for the purpose of bringing peace and prosperity. There is a real need for Parliaments such as this and others within the European Union to examine, in so far as we can with the help of our relevant Minister, what is going on in Iraq and how we can get ourselves out of this morass.

Finally, I welcome the fact that in recent days the House of Commons has finally pardoned the Shot at Dawn volunteers. I believe this to be a landmark decision. I ask the Acting Leader to convey the thanks of all to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, and his Department, who in a sense 18 months ago acted as a catalyst towards seeing this day arrive, when they released the report which was forensically detailed, and to Mr. Peter Mulvaney, the Shot at Dawn co-ordinator——