Fianna Fáil TDs and senators yesterday unanimously backed the Government's stance on Iraq despite some unease over whether Ireland should continue to support the United States if it attacks Iraq without a second UN resolution.
The vote at the weekly meeting of the parliamentary party followed a speech by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, during which he again emphasised the importance of the political and economic ties between Ireland and the US.
Mr Ahern referred specifically to a number of instances in which access to the White House had been of importance at crucial stages of the Northern Ireland peace process.
While the party stated in its motion that it supported a second resolution of the UN Security Council prior to considering any military action against Iraq, it stopped short of saying whether the Government should support or oppose a unilateral strike.
The parliamentary party expressed full confidence in Mr Ahern and in the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, "in their efforts to achieve a peaceful outcome". This clause was added by the top table to a motion proposed by Mr Barry Andrews TD which had simply called for a second UN resolution.
The party meeting witnessed one of the highest number of speakers on any topic in recent times, reflecting the heightened awareness of the issue in the wake of the anti-war rally last Saturday during which some 100,000 people had marched in Dublin.
About two dozen deputies and senators spoke during the debate. But while the chairman of the parliamentary party, Mr Seamus Kirk, told reporters there had been "slight variations in the contributions", a number of deputies said later there had been no direct criticism of Government policy.
Carlow/Kilkenny deputy Mr John McGuinness said he would oppose any move by the Government to allow the US to continue using Shannon Airport for military purposes if it attacked Iraq without a new UN resolution.
However, he said that there had been no detailed consideration of what to do in that eventuality, because it had not yet arisen. "It was not the big issue," he said.
Mr McGuinness said there was a recognition that Mr Ahern was doing a good job "given the fact that we're not exactly in the driving seat".
Another TD said yesterday that certain party members had moral difficulty with the notion of supporting the US during a unilateral attack, but he felt that many would be prepared to adopt a pragmatic stance.
He added: "There's people saying that obviously it does seem wrong to support unilateral action and we'll oppose it. The alternative view is that it's not going to make the slightest difference if we do or not."
Other backbenchers were concerned about the potential impact on jobs at Shannon. Clare deputy Mr Tony Killeen spoke of the need to maintain employment at Shannon Airport and stressed its importance to Clare, Limerick and the midwest region.
Speakers raised concerns about the effects of the current sanctions on the Iraqi people and emphasised the importance of maintaining the primacy of the UN.
A number of deputies spoke of the practice of allowing the Taoiseach and his Ministers "flexibility" in dealing with foreign policy and with Northern Ireland, where sensitive and fluid negotiations were taking place.
However, there had been no criticism of the Government for not ruling out support for unilateral US action, nor were there any demands for facilities at Shannon to be withdrawn from the US military in such circumstances.