Rendition flights - Gardaí must check planes at Shannon

We have long enjoyed good relations with the Government and people of the United States. Indeed, much of our Celtic Tiger prosperity is thanks to this relationship with the Americans.

But we owe it to ourselves and to them to ensure that these relations are maintained on a sound footing.

Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern stated yesterday that he has personally got the most categorical assurances from the Americans that they have never used Irish territory for flights of extraordinary rendition. A committee of the European Parliament has stated, however, that the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had 1,245 flights that landed at European airports or passed through European airspace, and that 147 of those landed in Ireland. No evidence has been produced to show that Shannon Airport was actually used for such rendition flights. The minister stated that the Garda Síochána has the right to search all flights at Shannon Airport.