Seán Ryan (Dublin North, Labour)
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Question 71: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he has had occasion to review the position of the Government with respect to the legality of the current war and occupation in Iraq, in view of the information available regarding the legal position communicated by Lord Goldsmith the Attorney General of the United Kingdom to the British Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair by memo on 7 March 2003; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6976/06]

Seán Ryan (Dublin North, Labour)
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Question 167: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he has had occasion to review the position of the Government with respect to the legality of the current war and occupation in Iraq in view of the views recently published by the former Attorney General of Ireland, Mr. Declan Costello, in an article in a publication (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6977/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 71 and 167 together.

On the outbreak of the war in Iraq, the Taoiseach moved a motion which was adopted by the Dail on 20 March 2003, which reaffirmed Ireland's commitment to the United Nations as the guarantor of collective global security and the appropriate forum for the resolution of disputes threatening international peace and security. In his statement to the House, he acknowledged that there was no clear legal consensus on whether there was a mandate for the use of force against Iraq, based on previous Security Council resolutions. He noted that the arguments put forward by the coalition asserting the existence of a mandate were also supported by a number of countries which were not participating in the military action. However, he made clear the Government's position that Ireland could not participate in the military campaign without an explicit further Security Council mandate. This remains the Government's position, and it is not intended to re-examine our position on the invasion of 2003 in the light of subsequent comments or views expressed by legal experts.

In relation to current military activity, it is clear that the international forces serving in Iraq are operating at the request of the Iraqi Government and under UN mandate. The presence of the multi-national force in Iraq was authorised by the UN Security Council in Resolution 1511 of October 2003. This authorisation was reaffirmed in Resolution 1546 of June 2004, and was recently extended to the end of 2006 by Resolution 1637, which was adopted unanimously by the Security Council in November 2005.