Mary White (Fianna Fail)

Our Minister raised the matter first. His pressing on the matter of rendition led to Ms Rice visiting Brussels to discuss the matter, demonstrating Ireland's ambition to deny support for any form of extraordinary rendition.

It is time to update legislation on matters such as rendition to guard against such flights. As the Minister for Foreign Affairs stated on 30 November, the Chicago Convention should be reviewed. It was drawn up in 1944 and is out of date. Changes should be made to ensure information is available and suspicions can be addressed by countries through which planes are travelling. From an Irish perspective the optimal route for this legislation is the EU. All member states are concerned about extraordinary rendition and would be motivated to produce legislation to address matters of safety and sovereignty. This is an opportunity for a small country to produce legislation on the European stage to update the Chicago Convention and provide information on those travelling on flights.