IRELAND: Labour has called on the Government to reject any demand from the US for diplomatic immunity for the secret service personnel who will guard president Bush during his visit to Ireland in June.
The party's justice spokesman, Mr Joe Costello, said the Irish security services should retain responsibility for the protection of Mr Bush during his visit for an EU-US summit on June 25th and 26th.
He was responding to a Sunday Tribune report which said that the US was likely to seek diplomatic immunity for its agents in the case of any accidental shootings of protesters.
A spokeswoman for the US embassy in Dublin would not say yesterday whether such conditions were sought as a matter of routine whenever the president travelled outside the US. "
We don't discuss specific security matters," she said.
While anti-war protesters and prominent figures in the Labour and Green parties are calling for demonstrations against the visit by Mr Bush, it is understood that a venue for the visit has not yet been fixed.
Mr Costello said the Government should reject any demand for sweeping powers.
