Seanad Report: The statement by the Minister for Foreign Affairs that we had not and would not facilitate extraordinary renditions, and that this remained our policy was totally untrue, David Norris (Ind) said.
Mr Norris was speaking on an Independents' motion calling for the establishment of a select committee on the use of Irish airports to investigate the use of Shannon by American military authorities, especially the CIA.
Mr Norris said there had been a tendency in government circles to dismiss the Marty Report.
"The language we are told is emotional. I have to say, I would not have respect for anyone who did not become emotional at the prospect of human beings, in some cases subsequently proved to have been totally innocent, snatched off the streets, intercepted in airports, their clothes surgically shorn from their bodies, drug suppositories inserted in the anus, unceremoniously clothed in nappies, then shackled to the inside of a CIA plane disguised as a civilian aircraft and transported to destinations they know not where, for the purpose of being tortured."
This was all done in the name of real politik it was suggested to maintain American investment in Ireland, added Mr Norris.
"This is a very short-sighted and mercenary view of morality and has never served the Government well in the past.
"Senator Martin Mansergh in this House last Thursday, if one unpicks the diplomatic language, is surprisingly frank on this issue, saying: 'the conduct of foreign policy and our relations with other countries often involves striking difficult balances, taking into account both our values and our interests'.
"Striking that balance wrongly could have serious long-term consequences."