Gardaí should search planes passing through Shannon Airport if there is a suspicion they are transporting terror suspects, Opposition parties said today.
The US is coming under increasing pressure from governments around the world to explain the CIA's alleged use of shell companies to operate planes carrying terror suspects. Protesters have, for a number of years, claimed these planes move suspects to countries where they are tortured in CIA-run interrogation camps.
Shannon is regarded as one of the most common refuelling stop-offs for these planes by peace activists and, increasingly, mainstream media.
The Green Party's foreign affairs spokesperson said: "All the indications are that terrorist suspects are being transported on these planes in breach of international law."
The US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice left the US today for a visit to Europe and issued a staunch defence of her country's position, saying that lives in Europre had been saved because of CIA intelligence gathering.
She said on her departure from Andrews Airbase that the US does not permit or tolerate torture under any circumstances.
"The United States does not use the air space or airport of any country for the purpose of transporting a detainee when we believe he or she will be tortured," Ms Rice said.
However, the US employs a controversial definition of torture and Ms Rice refused to be drawn on whether the United States had CIA-operated secret prisons in Europe.
British foreign secretary Jack Straw has written to Ms Rice on behalf of the EU, asking her to explain media reports about secret CIA prisons - including two allegedly sited in Poland and Romania. Italy, Sweden and Holland have also made representations on CIA activities issue.
Ms Rice told Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern last week that Shannon had never been used for what the US term "rendition" flights - prisoner-transport flights. Mr Ahern said he accepted those assurance but investigate any evidence to the contrary. He said Ireland would not be party to assisting any country in abusing human rights.
However, a New York Timesreport last week says Ireland has been used 33 times for such flights and plane spotters and peace activists at Shannon have identified one of the planes - a Gulfstream jet bearing the number N379P - widely regarded as being a disguised CIA craft which transports prisoners.
The newspaper last week said 26 aircraft "known to be operated by CIA companies" flew 307 flights in Europe since September 2001. Only Germany and Britain, with 94 and 76 flights respectively, hosted more CIA flights than Ireland, it reported.
Amnesty Internation today reported that 50 rendition flights had used Shannon, though it did indicate there were any detainees aboard.
Mr Gormely said that the US position should not be accepted at face value. "We already know that the war in Iraq was based on the huge lie that Saddam Hussein had possession of weapons of mass destruction. Since then there have been many more instances of lies and distortions by the Bush administration," Mr Gormley insisted.
Sinn Féin's Aengus Ó Snodaigh said the Government is demanding evidence before considering a policy of inspecting planes but "further evidence cannot be produced until the doors of the planes are opened - it is a classic Catch-22 situation".
Additional reporting agencies