Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 73: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his estimate of the loss of civilian life in Iraq; his views on the escalating loss of life and the deflection of funds from the task of reconstruction; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18484/05]

Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 79: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the current political and security situation in Iraq; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18588/05]

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 80: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the action being taken at European level to assist in the drafting of a new Constitution in Iraq; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18632/05]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to answer Questions Nos. 73, 79 and 80 together.

Following the elections on 30 January, and lengthy negotiations between the parties, the new transitional Iraqi Government under Mr. Al-Jafaari was formed at the beginning of May. It includes representatives of all the major groups in the Assembly. It also includes six Sunni Ministers, despite the under-representation of the Sunni community in the assembly due to violence surrounding the election and a boycott of the election by Sunni parties.

The political process mapped out in Security Council Resolution 1546 calls for the assembly to agree a new constitution by October, to be put to the people in a referendum, followed by new elections for a fully sovereign assembly and government in December.

An international conference on Iraq will be held on 22 June, to focus international support for the new Iraqi Government and the reconstruction of Iraq. It will also enable Iraq to set out its priorities and plans for the work of reconstruction, for of course it is now for the Iraqi Government to take the lead role in directing these efforts. It has unfortunately been the case to date that economic and infrastructure reconstruction in Iraq has been greatly hindered by violence, including attacks on contractors.

The security situation continues to give rise to serious concern. There has been a noticeable rise in insurgent violence over the last month, seemingly aimed at denying the new Government any political momentum. The attacks are aimed mostly at Iraqi security forces and officials, but also include large bomb attacks on Shia and Kurd community targets, such as markets and mosques, intended to try and spark civil strife.

It has been estimated that some 600 Iraqis have been killed in these attacks in the last month. The Government does not have any means of its own of estimating casualty figures in Iraq, or of assessing the accuracy of the figures put forward by other parties. However the Government's view, which has been expressed clearly since the outset of the conflict, is that the use of military force should be kept to a minimum, and that every possible effort must be made to avoid civilian casualties. Attacks intentionally targeted at civilians, which unfortunately have been a very frequent occurrence in recent weeks, are completely unacceptable.

The new Government faces serious and interconnected challenges: establishing effective administration and security forces; defeating a violent insurgency; constitution-making; and rebuilding the economy and infrastructure. A crucial overarching challenge is to engage the Sunni community and leaders fully in the political process, including the drafting of the constitution, despite their low representation in the assembly.

The EU is supporting the Iraqi Government in these efforts, including, inter alia, significant support for reconstruction, training in Europe for police and criminal justice system officers, and expert support for elections. The EU has also offered Iraq expert assistance in the process of drafting the constitution. This is of course a sensitive area in any political system, and it is up to the Iraqis to decide if they wish to avail of such help.