Labour demands explanation on two US treaties

The Labour Party has accused the Government of acting unconstitutionally by not bringing two bilateral treaties it made with the United States before the Dáil for approval.

Foreign affairs spokesman Michael D. Higgins said the issue of the two treaties, whose content is unknown, raises grave issues in the context of Ireland's role in the war in Iraq.

He said he has written to Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern seeking an explanation of why these two treaties, which are described as "bilateral defence agreements" on the US Department of State website, have not been made public.

Neither has been brought before the Dáil or listed on the Irish Treaty series published by the Department of Foreign Affairs.

"Article 29.5.1 of the Constitution requires that every international agreement to which the State becomes a party shall be laid before Dá il Eireann, although no timeframe is specified for this process," Mr Higgins argued.

He said Mr Ahern had denied that Ireland had entered any secret deal with the United States in the Dáil last January.

"I believe that the disclosure of . . . these two agreements will cause considerable concern among the public against the background of the war in Iraq, the huge number of US troops passing through Shannon and allegations of the use of Irish airports by CIA-controlled planes for the illegal transport of prisoners.

The first treaty is an "agreement concerning security measures for the protection of classified military information", according to the US government site. It was signed in Dublin in January 2003 and entered into force on that date.

The second was signed in February 2004 at the US European Command HQ near Stuttgart, Germany, and later signed in Dublin. It is described as an "acquisition and cross-servicing agreement, with annexes".

The Department insisted the agreements were administrative and therefore were not required to be laid before the Dail by the Constitution. However, Mr Ahern will lodge copies of the two agreements in the Dail library at the earliest opportunity.