Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

I support the motion that has been proposed by the Independent Senators. I thank Senator Norris and his colleagues for giving us another opportunity to discuss this matter, which we debated at length some months ago. On that occasion, I joined my party's spokesperson in outlining Fine Gael's position on this issue.

Fine Gael strongly believes that a select committee of this House should be established to investigate this matter in line with Irish constitutional and judicial practice and to ensure that a report is laid before both Houses. The argument that was made by the Government the last time we considered this matter, in opposition to another motion that was supported by Senator Norris, his Independent colleagues and others on this side of the House, was that we should wait for either the draft or finalised versions of the reports of two outstanding investigations, which were being concluded by the European Parliament and the Council of Europe at that time, before we reached any ultimate considerations. A more dangerous side of that argument was that there was no need for us to engage in any investigations, given that other bodies were engaging in investigations. That seems to be the tenor of the opposition that has been expressed to this motion this evening, but I reject it.

As a sovereign Parliament, the Oireachtas should determine for itself, by means of an investigation, the level of disquiet that exists on this issue in Shannon and elsewhere in this country. This House has sought for many years to redefine its role, to make itself more relevant and to become more attuned to what the ordinary people of this country want. If ever there was an issue that necessitated the establishment of a select committee to report to this House and this sovereign Parliament within a set timeframe, it is this issue. I reject utterly the argument of those who oppose this motion that we cannot investigate this matter because other interests are investigating it. This is an important issue in Ireland and in many other EU countries. We should not leave it to others to investigate it or to come to conclusions on it. I am quite surprised that the Government has not proposed an amendment to this motion, setting out explicitly its reasons for rejecting the proposal to establish a committee of this nature, given the extent of the public disquiet that exists on this issue and the level of debate that followed the initial publication of both reports, one of which has been published in draft form.

Senator Daly is absolutely right when he points out that, as a democratic society that is friendly with other democratic societies, we have a responsibility to counteract the fanatical form of terrorism that now exists throughout the world. We should do whatever we can to ensure that justice is brought to bear in these circumstances. There is no set of circumstances in which the war on terrorism can conceivably be won by those who are using illegal practices such as extraordinary rendition. There is no doubt that such practices have been allowed in the United States and other friendly countries for far too long.