Order of Business - 3rd November 2005

Order of Business – 3rd November 2005

Mr. Norris: I strongly support Senator Henry’s
comments regarding so-called “extraordinary
rendition”. The phrase is sinister and it shows a
slide in linguistic terms to use such euphemisms.
It also calls into question the way in which the
American administration uses words such as “liberty”,
“freedom” and “democracy”. It has
devalued them to a point where they are absolutely
meaningless. The Leader raised this matter
on the Adjournment and she described the
Government’s response as “waffle”. I can only
agree with her. Senator Henry, the Leader and I
have asked questions about this issue and we
have been met with obfuscation.
The Gulfstream airplane passed through
Shannon Airport repeatedly and it was involved
in criminal activities such as the kidnapping and
rendering of citizens to third countries for the
purposes of torture. The excuse offered was that
an unnamed official in the US administration said
the plane was empty but that ignores the fact that
part of American policy is plausible deniability.
In other words, one should tell a lie in circumstances
where one thinks one can get away with
it. Even if the airplane was empty, that would be
no excuse for refuelling and servicing it.
Would the Government have approved of the
refuelling and servicing of empty cattle trains
which it knew would be and had been used to
transport Jewish people to Auschwitz? The principle
is exactly the same. This issue needs to be
investigated. A prima facie case can be made that
a crime has been and continues to be committed
under international law. Irish citizens have
repeatedly given this information to the police at
Shannon who have done absolutely nothing
about it. Ireland is one of a number of countries
that has been reported to a United Nations subcommittee
to be investigated for complicity in
this practice. This practice will backfire and it is
the responsibly of this Parliament to make sure
the appropriate people are made accountable.
Could the Leader arrange a debate on medical
education? I have been contacted by a number of
constituents who indicated their children had the
required high number of points to enter medical
school this year but they were disadvantaged.
They were told there were no places in medical
schools even though students from outside the
European Union with lower grades were
accepted as a money making exercise. Our first
responsibility is to provide a medical education to
our own students who have the appropriate qualifications.
I agree with Senator Morrissey. We should not
attack somebody on this side of the House who
raises intelligent questions about the Transport
21 plan. It is an important and exciting initiative
but it needs to be monitored and Senator
Morrissey is perfectly right to say so. I attended
the launch of the document.
Mr. Dooley: We saw the Senator on television.
Mr. Norris: I spoke to one of the people who
will have a central role in its implementation
about the timescale for the metro. He said the
geology of Dublin is different and unique. If such
arguments are trotted out again by senior people,
we will be in trouble.