Noel Coonan
Question:6 Deputy Noel J. Coonan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his strategy to combat cyber bullying; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37470/08]
Other Questions.
Cyber Bullying.
Liz McManus
Question:39 Deputy Liz McManus asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the measures he will put in place to safeguard children against Internet bullying; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37244/08]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 39 together.
Tackling Internet downside issues is a complex business and continues to set new challenges for all those charged with protecting against the downside of the Internet. Increasing access to powerful communication tools such as social networking websites, video and photograph sharing sites has brought a new dimension to child protection issues such as cyber bullying. Cyber bullying refers to bullying carried out using the Internet, mobile phone or other technological devices. I have no function in the regulation of broadcast media or phones, but I will outline the child protection arrangements in place in respect of the Internet.
The Office for Internet Safety, OIS, has been established as an executive office within my Department and has taken over the formal role of the Internet Advisory Board in terms of monitoring industry self-regulation on illegal content on the Internet. The establishment of OIS is an important step in building the best possible protection for the community at large, and in particular for children, from the downside of the Internet. The OIS has responsibility for Internet safety, particularly on combating child pornography; overseeing the operation of the internet hotline system —www.hotline.ie — for dealing with reports of illegal content on the Internet, which will continue to be operated and funded by the Internet service provider industry; involvement in Internet safety awareness campaigns; and monitoring compliance with the Internet service provider industry code of practice.
The OIS will be advised by an Internet Safety Advisory Council, which will be the successor to the Internet Advisory Board. The advisory council will be drawn from representatives of the key stakeholders in the statutory, industry and community sectors and will support the work of the OIS. I will be announcing the composition of the new council in the near future.
The Deputy may be aware of the booklets in the "GET with IT!" series previously published by the Internet Advisory Board. There are three booklets in the series, namely, a parents' guide to new media technologies, a parents' guide to filtering technologies and a parents' guide to social-networking websites. These booklets give an overview of new technologies, help parents to understand and use websites and help them to safeguard their children on-line.
The issue of cyber bullying is a complex one which transcends the home or school environment. The Office for Internet Safety, in a joint initiative with the National Centre for Technology in Education, NCTE, O2 and Barnardos, has developed a new "GET with IT!" publication entitled "A guide to cyberbullying", which will be published next month. This booklet is intended to increase awareness of all aspects of cyber bullying in the new media world and to help parents and their children understand the often confusing issues of new media technologies and tools which children and young people are using for this behaviour. The booklet will also provide information for persons who are victims of cyber bullying on how such problems can be reported to the relevant authorities.
I would also refer Deputies to www.webwise.ie, a website developed by the National Centre for Technology in Education, an agency under the Department of Education and Science. This website, which is the Irish Internet safety awareness node and receives funding from the EU’s Safer Internet Programme, provides resources to help ensure that children’s on-line activity is positive and safe. NCTE has also developed policy guidelines and advisory notes for schools and parents which deal with the issues of Internet bullying. It also operates the www.watchyourspace.ie website which provides advice for young people on how to manage their on-line activities to avoid problems.
The Minister should send that reply to John Murray.
It is not that bad.
I welcome the awareness campaign but I must put it to the Minister that in the circumstances it is insufficient. What steps will the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform or any other Department take towards ensuring website providers play their part? The Minister does not seem to have any ideas, plans or activities other than a voluntary code for parents and children and an awareness campaign. What about the service providers? How does the Minister propose to regulate them and ensure they do not contribute by reason of the provision of their software to Internet bullying, which has become a real problem for young people, causing angst and trauma in many families? I hope every effort is made to examine what is best international practice.
I ask the Deputy to familiarise himself with what the industry and Internet service providers are doing on www.hotline.ie. I launched an element of their website a number of months ago and all of the Internet service providers are participating, apart from one which has an objection to participating in this and believes that law enforcement is an issue for the Garda. To be fair to the Internet service providers in this country, they have come together in conjunction with us, EU funding and their own funding to make a substantial effort to highlight public awareness on the issue. There is also an industry code of practice. The Office for Internet Safety will monitor compliance with the code of practice and be involved in Internet safety awareness campaigns.
Does Deputy Rabbitte wish to speak?
It is a bit complex for Deputy Rabbitte.
It is too opaque for me. I get bullied by the Minister every day without any protection.
Deputy Rabbitte is technologically disadvantaged.
Joint Policing Committees.
Frank Feighan
Question:7 Deputy Frank Feighan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the progress made to date in respect of the roll-out of the joint policing committees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40289/08]
Joint policing committees are provided for in the Garda Síochána Act 2005. Their purpose is to provide a forum where An Garda Síochána and the local authority — the two organisations which make the most significant contribution to preventing and tackling crime in a specific area — can come together, with the participation of members of the Oireachtas and community and voluntary interests, on matters affecting the area.
On 24 September I launched, with my colleague the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, the roll-out of the committees from the pilot phase in 29 local authority areas to all 114 local authority areas. The guidelines set out the procedures to be followed in establishing the committees. Following the formal decision by a local authority meeting to establish a committee, a process is set in train to select the committee members from the elected members of the local authority, the members of the Oireachtas who have registered their interest in becoming members and the community and voluntary sector, and various procedural matters have to be dealt with. The Garda Síochána representatives will be appointed by the Garda Commissioner.
I am informed by my colleague the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government that the relevant local authorities have been requested to take the necessary steps to secure the establishment of these committees, and I understand this process is under way. In addition, my Department has written to the Garda Commissioner requesting that he arrange for the establishment of the committees in conjunction with the relevant local authorities. I look forward to a joint policing committee being established in each of the remaining local authority areas over the coming months.
This is an ongoing issue and joint policing committees have been successful in the pilot areas. I welcome the fact that some movement has been made. However, a deadline should be set for establishing them in every local authority area. Is the Minister driving this? Has he met the Commissioner to discuss this issue? Does the Minister consider it a priority? Local government funding has been slashed by 6.7% in my constituency. Has the Minister provided a specific budget to each local authority to enable it to establish joint policing committees?
A small level of funding will be available to support the work of committees generally but it will be a matter for each local authority to find the resources, although not much should be required for this. In answer to the question on whether I spoke to the Garda Commissioner, he was at the joint launch of the initiative. The Garda Commissioner and the Garda Síochána believe this is a tremendous initiative as do I. Having served on a local authority between 1979 to 1991 I know a major problem with regard to crime in the area was that we did not have interaction between ourselves and the local superintendent. Now, we will have this interaction throughout the country and many of myths about who is at fault for crime will be dealt with. Genuine local problems can be dealt with by these committees.
Will the Minister continue the policing committees on the same basis as they operated in the pilot? The notion of the most senior gardaí submitting to interaction with public representatives at a public forum is the only element of local accountability that we have ever seen in Ireland in policing. I agree with the Minister that it is a tremendous initiative. I am somewhat biased given that I was its author. I brought it to the former Minister, Michael McDowell, behind closed doors and persuaded him of it and he was as good as his word.
I want to know whether it will be on the same basis as the pilot because I believe the value of the joint policing committees has been somewhat undermined by the fact that, for example, my local authority has 23 public representatives. The Minister knows what public representatives are like.
Including Deputy Rabbitte.
At least 22 of them must speak on each matter. Wily senior gardaí know this as well as we do and the result is that they do not have to answer any serious questions or engage in the quality of interaction that ought to take place and would take place if half a dozen public representatives developed specialist knowledge on policing and interacted with senior gardaí for the good of the local area. Will the Minister consider whether, in light of the experience to date, we ought to contain the number of public representatives and others who can be on the local committee? It only damages the efficacy of the idea.
The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, the Garda Commissioner and I launched the guidelines in September. Some tweaking of the guidelines was done with regard to the joint policing committees based on the experience of the pilots. However, it is more or less the same and I ask Deputies to familiarise themselves with the guidelines which set out exactly what are the functions and responsibilities.
They are too unwieldy in size.
That may well be and it is a matter for local authorities in particular to familiarise themselves with them. In my constituency, every Member of the Oireachtas has indicated a desire to be on the committee in Drogheda, which is a pilot. Public representatives all want to have their say. We can examine the guidelines as the committees proceed.
I agree with the concept of the committees and I believe they have potential. My constituency of Laois-Offaly is one Garda division. Under the current roll-out it appears we will have seven joint policing committees. Does it appear excessive to the Minister to have seven joint policing committees in one Garda division covering two counties? More importantly, in the context of the pilot scheme, will the Minister give an example of the success of the pilot scheme which encourages him to proceed?
One hundred and fourteen was chosen to reflect the number of local authorities in the country. Provision is made for a number of them to come together. With regard to the issue of practical successes off the top of my head I cannot state any from the 29 committees which are up and running. However, I know it has been successful in my area in that we have had interaction and complete understanding on particular problems in Drogheda. Councillors sometimes blame the Garda for not fully implementing the liquor laws. The reality, however, is that there is adequate provision in this regard within the intoxicating liquor legislation which local authorities have not implemented in terms, for example, of giving their advice to judges as to what they consider a due time for closure in the case of special exemption orders. This is something the Garda Síochána wishes to get across to local authorities.
Detention Centres.
Pádraic McCormack
Question:8 Deputy Pádraic McCormack asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the reason the proposed new national child detention facility for young offenders at Lusk, County Dublin, will not be fully completed until 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40311/08]
In March 2008, the Government approved the development of new national children detention facilities on the Oberstown campus near Lusk, County Dublin. The Government decision was informed by the report of the expert group on children detention schools, which is available on www.iyjs.ie.
The development will increase the accommodation capacity in the detention school service from 77 to 167 places and will be required to be carried out in phases to ensure the existing facilities continue to operate and make detention places available to the courts until the new accommodation is available. There are already three detention schools on the site and the proposed development will involve the demolition of some existing buildings on site and the retention of others but will consist mainly of newly constructed facilities. The timeframe for the construction period will be kept under review and will be influenced by the detailed information from the design team and the market conditions for the construction sector.
Planning for the development is under way and the appointment of a design team will be made shortly. The team will be required to advise on architectural, construction and engineering matters, to deliver high quality designs and to manage the construction of modern, state-of-the-art facilities. The design team will include, but is not limited to, expertise in architecture, construction project management, planning, health and safety, fire safety, cost estimation and control, and engineering and building services.
After the design of the new facilities has been completed during 2009, a tendering process will be undertaken to progress the construction element of the project, the first phase of which is estimated for completion in 2012. This will provide 80 places to accommodate 16 and 17 year old boys in order to remove this age group from St. Patrick's Institution and to facilitate the transfer of boys from the existing Oberstown boys school buildings.
The second phase, which is envisaged for completion in 2014, will entail the demolition of the buildings currently housing Oberstown boys school and the long-term unit of Oberstown girls school, as well as several other buildings. This phase will also involve the construction of facilities for 57 young people. Some of the existing buildings, including Trinity House school, will be retained, providing a total of 167 places when both stages of the project are completed. With the completion of each phase of this development, the children detention schools will provide excellent accommodation and facilities which will facilitate the rehabilitation of youths sent there by the courts.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House.
The project is being overseen by the Irish youth justice service, IYJS, an executive office in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, which has responsibility for a wide range of youth justice matters, including the children detention schools. Advice and supports for this project are being provided to the IYJS from several sources, including the Office of Public Works and the National Development Finance Agency. In preparing for the development, in line with Department of Finance guidelines for capital projects and with good practice, the IYJS will establish a project board to ensure robust governance and accountability are in place. The board will report directly to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform.
The cost of the project will be met from national development plan and Exchequer sources. I am pleased to report that the Government has made adequate capital provision in the 2009 Estimates to progress this project.
In the current economic climate, does this project remain a priority for the Department? Does the Minister of State envisage it will go ahead as planned? He stated in reply to a previous parliamentary question of mine that the closing date for tenders would be 8 August 2008. That date has come and gone. Have tenders been submitted? The Minister of State also said that he expects the design process to be completed by early 2009, which is only some months away. Has the Irish youth justice service completed its consultation with the various stakeholders in the design process?
As I have stated in reply to another parliamentary question on this matter today, a request for tenders for a full design team to develop new children's facilities at Lusk was published on the eTenders website in June 2002. Eleven bids were received but the evaluation team informed the IYJS that there were difficulties with the tendering process. It was decided at that point to terminate the process. The Office of Public Works has now taken on the role of the design team, which will allow for some savings. It will work on the design element of the project, after which it will be put out to tender. The process began with tendering for a design team and the next step is to tender for construction. As I said, the OPW has taken over that role and we are safe in terms of the general procurement issues.
When will construction commence? Does it make economic sense to build a small facility such as this over five years? What will happen in the interim to young offenders suitable for accommodation at Lusk?
The first phase of construction is due to be completed by 2012. The tendering process for the appointment of a construction company is due to be completed by mid-2009, and I envisage that construction will commence soon thereafter. The first phase, providing 80 places, will be completed in 2012 and the second phase in 2014. The two phases are designed to ensure there will be a smooth transfer of people from St. Patrick's Institution, in the first instance, and, after that, from the older buildings that will be demolished. As I said, Trinity House will be retained and the other buildings will be replaced.
Will this project be funded directly by the Exchequer or is it a public private partnership? How will the growing number of young offenders be accommodated in the interim?
It is not a public private partnership. A capital allocation of €12 million has been set aside for 2009 to continue this project. Young offenders will be accommodated in St. Patrick's Institution until such time as this facility is available. If there is a gap between the completion of this facility and the closure of St. Patrick's Institution, we will, as indicated previously, try to ensure there is availability in Thornton Hall. We envisage this will be a temporary arrangement.
If a capital allocation of €12 million has been set aside for next year but no construction work is anticipated, is this amount allocated purely for the design phase? Once the facility at Lusk is in place, will the Minister of State guarantee that children serving sentences long enough to bring them into their majority years, thus rendering them ineligible to serve the latter part of their sentences in Lusk, will not be sent directly to Thornton Hall but will be allowed instead to serve the earlier portion of their sentence in Lusk?
When exactly will construction commence? Rome was not built in a day but a timeframe of six years to build a complex to house 167 people seems excessive.
As I said, a capital allocation of €12 million has been made for 2009, and it is envisaged to commence construction next year. However, it is a complex site in terms of demolition, retention and the transfer and continuation of operations. It is not like a greenfield site where one is building brick upon brick.
Is the €12 million allocation included in the Department's budget or in the budget of the Office of Public Works?
Subject to clarification, it is contained in the Department's budget.
If there is a delay in the opening of Thornton Hall, as may be the case, the danger of having to house young people there will be obviated. It is envisaged that St. Patrick's Institution will close at the same time as this project is completed.
All the young people concerned will be over 18 years of age by the time Thornton Hall is accommodating anybody.
Deputy Flanagan is being very negative. Perhaps he does not want it to be built at all.
Preservation of Evidence.
Martin Ferris
Question:9 Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he has had discussions with the Garda Commissioner following the Supreme Court ruling (details supplied) on the matter of the loss of or failure to preserve evidence by members of the Garda; and if he will take steps to minimise such losses in the future either through Garda training, changes to evidence storage facilities and procedures or the upgrading of stations to ensure that the secure accommodation of evidence is feasible. [40227/08]
The case referred to by the Deputy concerns the preservation of evidence by An Garda Síochána. The judgment delivered on 31 July last sets out in detail the specific circumstances of the case and the need to ensure that evidence is available for the defence to ensure there is no risk of an unfair trial. The court reiterated the judgment given in another recent case, Savage v D.P.P., that best practice would dictate that An Garda Síochána give notice to an accused, or potential accused, of the intention to destroy evidence which may reasonably be material relevant to a trial, giving such persons time to have evidence examined, if they so wish.
I am advised by the Garda authorities that they are studying the judgment and its implications for training and procedures for the force, and arrangements are being put in place to ensure compliance with the judgment. I am also advised by the authorities that there is currently a property store in each Garda district for the purpose of storing both property coming into the possession of An Garda Síochána and court exhibits. A new property and exhibits management system is currently being introduced in the Garda Síochána. The purpose of the system is to establish a property store in each Garda division with enhanced facilities to manage all property coming into the possession of the Garda Síochána in that division, with a small number of very specific exceptions which may be required to be retained securely at local Garda stations.
There are now five divisional stores in operation. A further two locations are planned to be operational by the end of this year. Further locations are planned subject to the availability of resources and as suitable locations become available for use. In the interim, property coming into the possession of the Garda Síochána will continue to be handled in the manner prescribed in Garda procedures, which is subject to audit and inspection.
Is the Minister satisfied that everything is done to ensure that evidence collected by the Garda will be available for future court cases? I was involved in one case as a witness and in that case the murder weapon went missing in a Garda station and was never subsequently found. We have also read reports of evidence being stored in locker rooms by gardaí. When will the new property storage and management system be completed to ensure the gardaí are not frustrated when cases collapse due to the absence of or the failure to preserve key evidence?
Obviously, I cannot guard against human error. There will always be circumstances where human error will occur. However, gardaí have a duty to preserve, to the best of their ability, exhibits for court evidence. The Garda is changing the system to bring these divisional stores into operation. There are stores in Athlone, Waterford, Templemore, Enniscorthy and Store Street and two more are due to come into operation. Currently there is a store in each district designated for the collection and retention of evidence.
I am also considering changing the law, as was indicated in the court case. There are issues with regard to people being deprived of their property for considerable periods of time while a case is being considered by the Director of Public Prosecutions and eventually brought to court. We are trying to provide for a situation whereby, subject to agreement between the defence and the prosecution, a piece of evidence could be examined and returned to the owner.
In some cases the evidence can be large items. In the case I raised it was a motor vehicle. Is there sufficient storage space for items of evidence of that size? In the case I mentioned that piece of evidence was destroyed before it could be independently examined. There could be a number of vehicles involved if there are a number of cases. There is also a need for court cases to be dealt with more speedily so evidence is not taking up space in the Garda stations.
It has not been brought to my attention that there is a difficulty with storage of vehicles. When gardaí impound vehicles and take in vehicles that have been involved in road traffic accidents, they must have locations for their storage. To the best of my knowledge they are able to manage this. Indeed, I was involved in a case in Donegal in which a circus lorry was retained for a significant period as evidence. Its retention caused extreme difficulty for the circus owner, even though the lorry was somewhat peripheral to the accident. Thankfully, it worked out in the end.
It is a great county for circuses.
I am conscious of the difficulties in this regard.
Aircraft Search and Inspection.
Michael D. Higgins
Question:10 Deputy Michael D. Higgins asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will introduce legislative provisions to give the Garda powers to search aircraft using Irish airports to determine whether the planes may be used for the practice known as extraordinary rendition; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40195/08]
The programme for Government contains a number of commitments relating to extraordinary rendition and states unequivocally that the Government is opposed to the practice of extraordinary rendition. In particular, the programme commits the Government to encouraging and supporting An Garda Síochána in the investigation and enforcement of the Criminal Justice (United Nations Convention Against Torture) Act 2000 and the Geneva Conventions Acts 1962-1998.
Recently, a new Cabinet committee on aspects of international human rights reviewed the programme for Government commitments in this area. It agreed to examine the statutory powers available to authorised officers regarding search and inspection of aircraft, including those provided under Air Navigation and Transport Acts, in the context of the State's obligations under the Chicago Convention. The Deputy will appreciate that these Acts and the convention are not matters for which my Department is responsible.
There has been regular communication between me and my Department, acting on my behalf, and the Garda Commissioner relating to the implementation of the programme's commitment regarding extraordinary rendition. The Garda Commissioner has assured me that he has sufficient resources to implement the commitment, and that the commitment is being implemented and is kept under constant review so as to reflect best practice. In that context, the Garda Commissioner has requested the Deputy Commissioner, operations, to again review the training and search regime.
The Garda remains ready to take whatever action is open to it under the law in relation to any allegations involving extraordinary rendition. I must point out, for the sake of clarity, that we are not talking about military or State aircraft, which enjoy sovereign immunity. The Garda has no role in the inspection of such aircraft. Those powers of search which are available to the Garda at present, and which apply to aircraft as much as to any other type of private property, can only be exercised in accordance with the law, that is, where evidence is available which would justify their use. In practice, this means that the Garda must have reasonable grounds to believe an offence is being or has been committed.
The Garda has fully investigated a number of allegations of unlawful activity at Irish airports and files have been submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions in some of these cases, although no prosecution was directed. In the other cases no evidence to substantiate the allegations was disclosed. In fact, it was established beyond all doubt that legitimate commercial cargoes and passengers were being carried by these flights.
I refer the Minister to a statement from Deputy Ciarán Cuffe of the Green Party, in which he said that this change of policy represents a sea change in the Government's approach. I listened carefully to the Minister's reply but it was hard going. Why is Deputy Cuffe so excited? What does this mean? Will there be random searches and inspections of the aircraft concerned? Is that what the policy means?
I cannot answer for Deputy Cuffe.
The Minister can answer for the Government.
The Deputy should ask Deputy Cuffe about what he had to say on this issue. There is a commitment in the programme for Government with regard to training the Garda Síochána, and I have raised it with the Garda Commissioner on a number of occasions. At the newly formed Cabinet committee it was agreed that we would re-examine the legislation, particularly the air navigation Acts and the Chicago Convention. When I was Minister for Foreign Affairs I raised the issue of the Chicago Convention. I maintained, and I said it to the US Ambassador at the time, that in the context of al-Qaeda it is in the interests of nation states, particularly the US, that the meagre information that is made available under the Chicago Convention of 1944 should be reviewed. Given the rapid increase in the use of private aircraft across Europe and the world, and indeed Ireland, there should be more information.
With regard to a change of policy on the powers of the gardaí or any other officer other than those officers prescribed by law — a number of designated authorised officers can board airplanes to inspect them for safety under air navigation legislation — the gardaí can board airplanes under the same conditions as they can go into the Deputy's house or mine, that is, they must have a reasonable suspicion that a crime is being committed or they must have a search warrant. There is no change in that respect. However, we are examining possible changes in the air navigation Acts to widen the scope of the type of examinations authorised officers can make.
To summarise, nothing has changed. As far as the random search and inspection of traffic through Shannon Airport in respect of the possibility of extraordinary rendition is concerned, nothing has changed. However, the Government is examining changing the air navigation Acts, perhaps. Is that the position?
The Deputy referred to random checks. The Garda cannot check any property, and if it did, it could leave itself open to a claim for damages from the property owner. The Garda can only search a property if it can establish a reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed, or if there is a bench warrant.
Powers are granted to authorised officers under the Air Navigation Acts to board airplanes for specific purposes relating to examination and security. Under the Chicago Convention, airplanes are entitled to enter and leave countries and this right cannot be refused. We are examining the legislation in the context of the Chicago Convention.
The Minister stated it was beyond reasonable doubt that the cargo was legitimate. How can he assert this given that the flights passed through Ireland long before the Garda investigation took place? There could not have been a proper investigation.
On a related matter, is the Minister aware of a campaign to have Ireland accept a prisoner or prisoners from Guantanamo Bay?
That is beyond the scope of the question.
It is related to extraordinary rendition and there is a possibility that some of these people previously came through Ireland.
I am sure that would be worthy of a question in its own right.
That may well be the case. Will the Minister encourage the USA to allow some of these people, who have been cleared of any wrong doing, to come to Ireland or Europe given they cannot return to their native countries because of the risks involved?
What was the first question?
How can the Minister state it was beyond a reasonable doubt that the cargo was legitimate, given that it was not possible to investigate the matter?
Ultimately, it is a matter for the Garda and the DPP to decide what constitutes a reasonable doubt and whether a crime was committed. Any claim must then stand up in court. To be fair to Deputy Cuffe and others, it is suggested there have been incidents involving several notorious planes which have travelled across the world. There may be some scope in future — I say this by way of suggestion, I am not trying to tell the Garda what to do — if one of these famous planes were to land at Shannon or any other airport in the country, for the Garda to ascertain whether a crime was committed, given that airplane's history. However, we identified that a small number of these notorious planes landed at Shannon during my time as Minister for Foreign Affairs. On one occasion I was informed that one of these planes had landed at Shannon, but upon investigation, we found the plane was taking three or four golfers around Ireland and was travelling from Shannon to Sligo, Belfast and elsewhere. In the case of another so-called rendition flight, it was revealed following investigation that the plane had a cargo of racehorses on board.
The remarks about golfers and racehorses are very interesting.
It is a fact.
That will not bring much comfort to Deputy Cuffe and the Green Party. I revert to what I suspect Deputy Cuffe is interested in, that is, whether there will be any change to the practice at Shannon Airport. Do I correctly summarise the Minister by saying there has been no change, but there might be a change in the future, and that such a change will only occur if the Air Navigation Acts are amended? When will the Cabinet subcommittee conclude its consideration of the issue? Is there a deadline, or is it cruelly misleading the Green Party into believing it has had an impact on changing the practice at Shannon? I do not know why the question is so difficult to answer.
I will answer by stating exactly the decision of the subcommittee. The matter is ongoing. The subcommittee granted the Minister for Foreign Affairs the authority to contact the new administration, as I did several years ago when I held that portfolio. I was the first Minister in the European Union to call for the closure of Guantanamo Bay. I was the first Minister to demand from the USA administration that Ireland should not be used for rendition and I received guarantees to that effect before any other member state of the European Union.
It was agreed by the subcommittee that the Minister for Foreign Affairs will contact the new administration to seek a clear statement that extraordinary rendition will cease and would not resume during the new US presidential term, that the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay would close and that intensive interrogation techniques such as water-boarding, which is considered by international agreement to constitute torture, would be clearly prohibited. The subcommittee further agreed to strengthen as necessary the legislative provisions and review the statutory powers available to civil and police authorities in the jurisdiction allowing search and inspection of aircraft, including those provided under the Air Navigation and Transport Acts in the context of the obligations on the State under the Chicago Convention. The subcommittee also agreed that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform would make a statement setting out the steps to give effect to human rights training in the Garda Síochána as agreed in the programme for Government and the powers, resources and duties of the Garda Síochána for inspection of aircraft.
Written Answers follow Adjournment Debate.