Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

The Minister said earlier that we had a special relationship with the US. Will he accept that trust has become difficult with this Administration given that weapons of mass destruction did not materialise in Iraq when we were told they were there? That was the raison d'être for this war. Given that we have this special relationship with the US, how would the Minister treat a state with which we do not have a special relationship? Would we treat it any differently? That is important in terms of determining what it is possible for Ireland to do to ensure that our airports and air space are not being abused.

I echo the point made by Deputy Michael Higgins. If it has nothing to hide, would the Minister not expect an Administration to invite inspections with a view to ensuring that a State like ours does not feel compromised?

I am confused about the role of the Director of Public Prosecutions. The Minister said that if the Government gets hard evidence it will take appropriate action yet he said it is up to the Garda to take that action. Presumably, the DPP is constrained by this special relationship with the US because it is difficult to understand how he can reconcile one with the other if that is not the case.

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