Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Question 90: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on the continuing violence in Iraq and on possible solutions to the conflict. [10384/07]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 155: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the recent regional conference on Iraq. [10517/07]

Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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Question 175: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on the situation in Iraq, four years after the invasion of that country; his views on reports that more US troops are to be deployed in Iraq; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10496/07]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 90, 155 and 175 together.

The Government shares the widespread concern at the very dangerous and difficult situation in Iraq. The appalling security situation, and especially the continuing spiral of vicious sectarian violence, dominate all developments. As a result, the political and reconstruction efforts of Iraq's first fully sovereign and democratic Government have effectively been blocked. A number of security efforts have so far failed to control the violence. There is a clear obligation on all parties to cooperate to end this nightmare situation for the Iraqi people.

Baghdad has been the worst affected area in recent months. As Deputies are aware, the U.S. has despatched an additional 25,000 troops to Iraq, with the specific objective of combating the terrible violence in the city. It is clear that there are major risks with any such strategy, but also that there is now no course of action in Iraq which is without risk. This latest security operation is visibly a joint one, undertaken with Iraqi forces. Its aim is to remove Shia militias from the streets, as well as to combat Sunni insurgents. The intention is to retain control of and establish administration in each area as it is cleared of violence, and to reconstruct and restore essential services. During my discussions in the Middle East last month, Arab political leaders emphasised that they fully supported the objectives of this initiative. Some initial success has been reported, but it remains too early to judge its effectiveness at this stage.

The Government has emphasised consistently that security operations will only succeed in the longer term in the context of a broadly political approach. It remains essential to work creatively to engage the Sunni community in the political system, including in the review of provisions of the democratically-approved Constitution for Iraq. The recent approval by the Iraqi Government of a new law to divide oil revenues more equitably among the regions may also prove to be an important step in this regard.

The Government continues to believe that a secure and peaceful Iraq can only be assured through the maintenance of its territorial integrity, the development of shared political and other institutions and the consolidation of strong political and economic links with all the countries of the neighbouring region. We believe that the regional conference held in Baghdad on 10 February was a particularly significant initiative by the Iraqi Government. All the participants committed themselves to assisting the Government to stabilise and regain control of their country, so that it can regain its place in the region. It is essential now that the pledges made be lived up to. The conference has established working groups on security, on refugees and displaced persons, and on fuel and energy. It is important that agreement be reached as soon as possible on the timing and venue of the follow-up regional meeting at Ministerial level.

The principal concern of the Government and our EU partners is obviously for the welfare of the Iraqi people, as they attempt to rebuild their country after years of dictatorship and war. The EU has provided over €700 million in assistance for reconstruction since 2003. Last month, the Government announced a pledge of a further €3 million in assistance for the victims of the current violence, in particular the large numbers of families who have been forced to flee their homes, and are displaced in Iraq or are forced to live as refugees abroad. This represents a substantial increase on the €7.9 million already provided by the Government for humanitarian assistance in Iraq. Last week, we also announced the allocation of a further €100,000 to support the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq.