John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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Question 89: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to developments with regard to the investigation into allegations of secret detention centres operating within the EU; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13046/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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There are three investigations currently under way into allegations regarding the existence of secret detention centres. The first is an investigation by Senator Dick Marty, a rapporteur appointed by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. The Department of Foreign Affairs has not been contacted by Senator Marty. However, in his most recent information memorandum to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, the Senator accurately records the Government's "total condemnation" of the practice of extraordinary rendition.

The second investigation takes the form of a questionnaire sent to all member states of the Council of Europe by the Secretary General, Mr. Terry Davis, relating to allegations regarding secret prisons and so-called extraordinary rendition. As I informed the House on 21 February 2006, the Government has co-operated fully with the Secretary General's request and replied in advance of the deadline. The response confirms my previous statements to the House recording the Government's very deep concern over allegations of the possible existence of secret prisons, and its complete opposition to the practice of extraordinary rendition.

Our response was one of only nine out of 46 deemed by the Secretary General to be sufficiently comprehensive not to have required any further clarification.

The third investigation is being carried out by a temporary committee established by the European Parliament "to find out whether the CIA carried out torture or illegal detentions on EU territory, and whether citizens from Member States or candidate countries have been detained". Meetings with a wide range of relevant individuals and organisations are taking place with a view to producing an interim report by the beginning of June.