Seanad to investigate 'extraordinary rendition' flights through Ireland

A special select committee of the Seanad to investigate the use of Irish airports by so-called "rendition flights" is to be established in early 2006.

The leader of the Seanad, Mary O'Rourke, told the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs on 20 December that the terms of reference for a cross-party group were being finalised and would be agreed by the middle of January 2006.

The committee was called for by David Norris, and will investigate the use of Irish facilities by private aircraft known to be operated by the CIA and used in the transfer of prisoners in the "war on terror".

A similar cross-party committee has already being set up in the UK's House of Commons.

Mary O'Rourke told the Foreign Affairs committee she was "totally of the view that there have been incidents of which we would not be proud as a country".

O'Rourke said people "want to know exactly what has happened".

"Of late, particularly since the rendition issue appeared on the agenda, they want to know where, when, why and how. I do not see any conflict between desiring the truth and our being a friend to the United States and its being a friend to us. I do not understand arguments that, if one feels fine about the United States and it feels fine about us, we should keep our mouths shut."

The terms of reference for the Seanad select committee were being prepared "in light of the fact that there is growing democratic unease and disquiet among various countries right across Europe", she said.

A memo prepared for the committee members by the Department of Foreign Affairs International Security Policy Section, seen by Village, states that government policy on so-called "extraordinary renditions" is that the Government "has not and will not permit any flight engaged in extraordinary rendition to pass through Ireland".

Speaking at the committee meeting, Senator David Norris asked for the briefing document to be withdrawn.

"The Government has permitted at least one flight – but probably several – which was engaged in extraordinary rendition through the national airspace", he said.

"The flight may not have been on the way out, but it was certainly on the way back and it means the statement that the Government has not permitted a flight 'engaged in extraordinary rendition' is untrue."

Norris was referring to the cases of aircraft operated by the CIA which landed at Shannon while returning from "rendition" missions which transferred prisoners to Egypt and Morocco, as reported in Village on numerous occasions. In each case, the prisoners subsequently alleged they were tortured.