Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Question 109: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he or officials of his Department will be appearing before the ongoing European parliamentary committee investigation into the operation of secret prisons and the practice of extraordinary rendition by the United States in Europe; and if so, if they will be expanding on the reasons for their acceptance of a diplomatic assurance in the area of fundamental guarantees in human rights as established in international law. [7006/06]

Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 134: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if, further to his statement to Dáil Éireann in response to Parliamentary Question No. 118 of 14 December 2005 a detailed questionnaire on the subject of secret detention and the practice known as extraordinary rendition from the Council of Europe's Secretary General has been completed by Department officials; if its contents, and the full submission made to the Council of Europe, will be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7007/06]

Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 160: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if the question of the possible existence of secret detention centres within the EU has been discussed with his European counterparts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6808/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 109, 134 and 160 together.

I refer Deputies to my reply to Question No. 72 of today. The Government's response to the questionnaire circulated by the secretary general of the Council of Europe, Mr. Terry Davis, issued on Monday, in advance of the deadline set by the secretary general. In its response the Government emphatically answers in the negative the secretary general's questions on whether "unacknowledged deprivation of liberty" might have taken place in Ireland. The Government's response was laid before Dáil Éireann yesterday. It has now been made public, and is available for download from the website of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Within the EU, the question of the possible existence of secret prisons has been discussed at official level between the European Commission and officials in member states in eastern Europe. The issue was also discussed informally during the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 21 November 2005. Following this meeting, the Presidency wrote to the US Secretary of State seeking clarification on the issue of secret prisons and rendition flights. Secretary Rice's reply of 7 December 2005 reiterated her widely-reported statements on the matter.

The Government will co-operate to the fullest extent practicable with the temporary committee established by the European Parliament to investigate "whether the CIA carried out torture or illegal detentions on EU territory, and whether citizens from Member States or candidate countries have been detained". There will, presumably, be a very considerable overlap between the investigation of the European Parliament and those of the Council of Europe. As yet, there has been no invitation to any Government representatives to attend. In the event that any representatives are invited to attend, I expect that the issue of the clear and unambiguous assurances the Government has received from the US authorities will arise.

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Question 110: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps Turkey has taken towards improving human rights and freedoms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6809/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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In recent years, Turkey has made significant progress in the adoption of wide-ranging political reforms. Important human rights reforms have been introduced, including in relation to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, and the rights of women.

In December 2004, the European Council decided that Turkey sufficiently fulfilled the Copenhagen criteria, including in relation to human rights, to enable the opening of accession negotiations. These began on 3 October 2005. Throughout the accession negotiations, the European Union will expect Turkey to sustain the process of reform which it has already begun and to work towards further improvements, including in respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

In its 2005 progress report on Turkey, the European Commission noted that important legislative reforms have now entered into force and should lead to structural changes in the legal system, particularly in the judiciary. However, the Commission also stated that the pace of change slowed in 2005 and implementation of reforms remained uneven. Despite some progress the report notes inconsistencies in human rights protection. Legislative progress has been achieved with regard to the exercise of fundamental freedoms, notably through the entry into force of a new penal code and a new law on associations, and in practice individuals and civil society organisations enjoy greater freedom than in the past. Nevertheless, individuals continue to be prosecuted and convicted for the expression of non-violent opinion and certain associations continue to face constraints on their activities. In this context, the European Union welcomed the decision of the Turkish courts to dismiss the case against the writer Orhan Pamuk on 22 January 2006. At the same time, the Union reiterated its continued concern at other charges related to the expression of non-violent opinions which are still pending before Turkish courts.

Together with our EU partners and through our embassy in Ankara, we will continue to monitor the human rights situation in Turkey and to stress the importance of adherence to the standards enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights. We look forward to engaging positively with Turkey on the issues involved.