I consider it appropriate that Senator van Turnhout drew our attention to the fact that this is the year of the snake in the Chinese calender. Yesterday was the opening of the lunar new year for the people of Tibet, the Tibetan Buddhists. It is horrifying that they have had to cancel the celebration because of the appalling treatment they are receiving at the hands of the Chinese. We tend to forget human rights in Ireland when a little bit of a purse is jingled in front of our nose and we think of money. As one of the founders of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs I have consistently regretted this change in balance to take in foreign affairs and trade.

May I also raise a matter - it was mentioned in one of the newspapers that nobody had taken up - a report, Globalising Torture - CIA Secret Detention and Extraordinary Rendition, which has just been published. We must have time to have a look at it. It is a matter of shame to all of us that we should be numbered among the countries assisting in the capture and transport of detainees, permitting the use of domestic airspace and airports for secret flights transporting detainees, providing intelligence leading to secret detention and extraordinary rendition of individuals and interrogating individuals who were secretly captured. We are in the company of Afghanistan, Albania, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Syria. I raised the issue at the time and I gave information to Members of the other House which was collected from those very brave people in Shannon who were making notes of the planes. Everything was denied.

Does the Senator have a question for the Leader?

May we have a debate on the issue, particularly in light of the fact that, to our eternal shame, a committee of inquiry, a special committee of this House, was established and then removed because of pressure from local authorities in the Shannon area?