Does the Taoiseach agree a majority of Irish people believe that the war in Iraq is an illegitimate war that might have been avoided, the case has not been proven and they cannot see what the connection is between the al-Qaeda network and the terrible atrocity of 11 September and Iraq? Does he accept the people are concerned about the ordinary people of Iraq; the duration of the war; the future of frightened children; the implications for the region and the manner in which the conflict is likely to inflame the Arab world; the implications of this stoking of enmity between the West and the Islamic world; and, above all, the emergence of a new doctrine of pre-emptive war under the present leadership of the United States?

The Taoiseach will accept a majority of the people understand the Government had a difficult decision to make and the United Kingdom and the US are good friends of the country. However, they are distressed by the manner of the handling of the crisis by the Government and, above all, by the doctrine, articulated by the Tánaiste, of the present leadership of the US. She says it is America, right or wrong. What position will the Government take on the new doctrine of pre-emptive war? When given the opportunity at the United Nations, where will the Government stand?

Our thoughts and concerns are with the Iraqi civilian population who bear no fault in any of this, including, as Deputy Rabbitte said, the children, women, the elderly and displaced persons caught up in the conflict, particularly in the unfolding battle at Basra. Considerable uncertainty remains concerning the direction and duration of the war and the precise needs of those directly affected. We will continue to do all we can on the humanitarian side. Yesterday I outlined our contacts with GOAL and the UN. Thankfully, the UN took many preparatory steps to avoid difficulties in the event of war and, at the same time, it worked hard to avoid war.

As Deputy Rabbitte stated, we have tried for many months, particularly since last September, to work with the UN to see if a peaceful resolution could be achieved. Last Monday week, unfortunately, those efforts failed and it was only then that we had to consider what position we would take. We decided not to be involved or to participate in any way in this conflict because we could not do so without a UN resolution. Our position is now to work as best we can and to the fullest extent with the UN on the humanitarian aid issue. We can do many things in this regard, which have been outlined.

On the other hand, there will be a role for the UN. That has been agreed by practically everybody and we will be able to play a role in that. Hopefully, the war will be short but nobody knows. The policy of this country since 1955 has been to play our international role in foreign policy under the collective security of the UN. That remains the position. There is no doubt this has not been a great conflict for the UN but it has had major successes and is playing a key role in many other parts of the world. Nobody should forget that. Unfortunately, this has been a bad experience but we must build on that, see where the difficulties and fault lines were and continue to work collectively, with the Security Council at the centre, to promote peace, justice and security in the world as best we can.

I asked the Taoiseach only a single question and he did not answer it.

The Deputy asked seven questions.

Deputy Rabbitte, without interruption, please.

It is encouraging that the Minister for Health and Children can count. It is a pity he will not count the number of patients in queues and deal with the hospitals.

The queues are getting longer.

I asked the Taoiseach one question. He was in the House yesterday when I traced the origins of the doctrine of pre-emptive war from 1992 through to 1997 when half a dozen people who are now in President Bush's Cabinet authored the document, Project for the New American Century, to the letter they wrote to Bill Clinton in 1998 demanding that he should invade Iraq and discount the UN. I spelt that out in considerable detail yesterday. What is the position of the Government on the new international doctrine of pre-emptive war sponsored by the people surrounding President Bush? Will the Taoiseach assure the House that the humanitarian programme is within the charge of the United Nations? Is the €5 million, which the Government has come up with, in excess of the €23 million global budget, because the statement from the Department of Foreign Affairs seems to imply that it is not?

I answered Deputy Rabbitte's question—

The Taoiseach did not.

—but I will repeat my answer. The Government supports a system of collective international security, with the UN Security Council at the centre exercising primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. I am not answerable for pre-emptive strikes by anybody. I stand for and believe in the United Nations and I want to see it fully complied with.

The Government is assisting pre-emptive strikes.

It is supporting them.

I heard what Deputy Rabbitte said yesterday, but I must remind him that the the Clinton Administration – which was a good friend to Ireland – was in place for a large number of UNSC resolutions directed against Saddam Hussein.

It did not invade Iraq.

The Deputy declined to recognise that fact. Saddam Hussein declined to listen to what the organised world was saying. We would not be faced with the Bush Administration having to deal with this issue if Saddam Hussein – a dictator who has killed one million people – had fulfilled his obligations during the term of the Clinton Administration.

Allow the Taoiseach to conclude without interruption.

We will continue to put as many resources as possible into the humanitarian effort. We committed resources yesterday and we have already provided resources to the general fund. We will use as much as possible to help genuine Iraqi people.

Who is running it?

Does the Taoiseach agree with pre-emptive war?

He does.