Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)

I commend the Labour Party, especially Deputy Michael D. Higgins, on bringing forward this motion. "Hear no evil, see no evil" and "out of sight, out of mind" appear to be the policy of this Government. It does not have the moral compass required properly to address this critical situation. Like doubting Thomases, its members want to put their hands into the wounds before they will believe.

This Government is not about people but about supporting big business and superpowers. If there is even the slightest chance that somebody is being tortured or rendered, we must deal with it. However, like ostriches, we have been burying our heads in the sand. We will not deal with it just as we will not deal with other situations here. This Government will not deal with people dying on hospital waiting lists. Thousands of people on waiting lists for eight or more years develop cancer and die due to neglect because of the Government. Half the population got a service while the other half did not and hundreds will die in the meantime when money, which is not being made available, would put it right. Successive Governments ignored all these issues just like when thousands of beds were taken out of the system in former years and they thought nothing would happen and expected everybody to be well and to live happily ever after.

If the shoe was on the other foot and if we thought there was something wrong with our planes going through Kennedy Airport we could not fault the Americans for wanting to check our planes. The evidence is there but the Minister says it is not. It has been proven that Ireland is part of the CIA network. Just because nobody is necessarily caught on a plane does not mean nobody was on the plane shortly before or afterwards. We know some planes were used to transport people for rendition and these have stopped in Ireland before or after that. That is a fact with which we must deal.

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