Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail)

I wish to share my time with Senator Ormonde.

I welcome the Minister of State and the information he has provided. I also welcome the publication of the report we are discussing today.

I have spoken on this issue many times in the House where there has been a certain level of rancour in the debate. However, the debate has been worthwhile. Everybody approaches the issue in terms of what is important to him or her, but there is commonality in the fact that people are agreed on their opposition to extraordinary rendition. Nobody has indicated differently in any of the debates.

One important issue missed in the report — it was touched on by the Minister of State — concerns how we should deal with the issue of rendition. The report appears to single out the Government for blame, but I will not take that route. I will not get into an argument about whether the blame lies with Proinsias de Rossa, MEP, the Labour Party or a certain left agenda in Europe. I presume anybody involved in producing these reports goes to the table with his or her own views on life and on how such issues should be thrashed out, but I am sure it is done in an upfront manner. It is important to move away from the blame game. It is more important to decide how we can deal with the issue of rendition, on the role of the CIA in the situation and how the rule of law can be protected.

The report suggests banning CIA flights through Ireland. I have no doubt the majority of CIA flights through Ireland have beneficial purposes. In debate on extraordinary rendition, we often lose sight of the fact that the CIA provides a service that benefits all of us. This does not mean I support all its actions, but I sleep easier in my bed at night, as do many citizens of the world, as a result of the intelligence gathering of the agency.

Another myth with regard to this issue is illustrated by the term "anti-Americanism". I am not sure the sentiments expressed are always anti-American, but there is certainly an anti-Bush, anti-Administration or anti-Republican Party agenda. It is worth noting the change in the focus of the CIA took place in 1995 when there was a greater level of spend into the agency and greater recognition by the Administration of the time of the lack of quality information that would allow it make decisions that would protect not alone the United States, but also other countries in Europe. Strangely enough, it was the Democratic Clinton Administration that was in power at the time. The shift in CIA policy had its genesis then, which is something worth considering by those who refer in derogatory terms to the Bush Administration as the author of this type of practice. They should note that it started in a previous Administration and has been continued by the Bush Administration. I do not wish to defend the Bush Administration, but just wish to make the point for this debate.

I am also concerned that every time we debate the issue, Shannon is drawn into the net. The Minister of State addressed that matter. The debate has moved from the point where people mentioned here that they had heard on the radio that prisoners in shackles were being brought through Shannon Airport. It is now accepted that was not the case. We should move to a higher level of debate and move away from mentioning specific airports. Let us leave the people of Shannon in peace.

We should also remove from the debate the suggestion that Fianna Fáil is only concerned with the protection of Shannon Airport. That is not the case. We are not prepared to sacrifice human rights for jobs at Shannon Airport and that has never been at the core of our debate.