David Norris (Independent)

I strongly support Senator Henry's comments regarding so-called "extraordinary rendition". The phrase is sinister and it shows a slide in linguistic terms to use such euphemisms. It also calls into question the way in which the American Administration uses words such as "liberty", "freedom" and "democracy". It has devalued them to a point where they are absolutely meaningless. The Leader raised this matter on the Adjournment and she described the Government's response as "waffle". I can only agree with her. Senator Henry, the Leader and I have asked questions about this issue and we have been met with obfuscation.

The Gulfstream aeroplane passed through Shannon Airport repeatedly and it was involved in criminal activities such as the kidnapping and rendering of citizens to third countries for the purposes of torture. The excuse offered was that an unnamed official in the US Administration said the aeroplane was empty but that ignores the fact that part of American policy is plausible deniability. In other words, one should tell a lie in circumstances where one thinks one can get away with it. Even if the aeroplane was empty, that would be no excuse for refuelling and servicing it.

Would the Government have approved of the refuelling and servicing of empty cattle trains which it knew would be and had been used to transport Jewish people to Auschwitz? The principle is exactly the same. This issue needs to be investigated. A prima facie case can be made that a crime has been and continues to be committed under international law. Irish citizens have repeatedly given this information to the police at Shannon who have done absolutely nothing about it. Ireland is one of a number of countries that has been reported to a United Nations sub-committee to be investigated for complicity in this practice. This practice will backfire and it is the responsibly of this Parliament to make sure the appropriate people are made accountable.

Could the Leader arrange a debate on medical education? I have been contacted by a number of constituents who indicated their children had the required high number of points to enter medical school this year but they were disadvantaged. They were told there were no places in medical schools even though students from outside the European Union with lower grades were accepted as a money making exercise. Our first responsibility is to provide a medical education to our own students who have the appropriate qualifications.

I agree with Senator Morrissey. We should not attack somebody on this side of the House who raises intelligent questions about the Transport 21 plan. It is an important and exciting initiative but it needs to be monitored and Senator Morrissey is perfectly right to say so. I attended the launch of the document.