The Government is seeking to delete key parts of a European Parliament report that criticises Ireland for allowing its airports to be used by CIA aircraft linked to rendition.
In a series of amendments to be submitted to the parliamentary committee set up to investigate the illegal transfer of terrorist suspects today, Fianna Fáil MEP Eoin Ryan will try to delete references to the 147 CIA flights that stopped over at Irish airports.
He will also table an amendment that applauds Ireland for its "proactive policy in relation to extraordinary rendition, in particular its early engagement with the US authorities on the subject" and "congratulates the Government of Ireland for the timely measures it took directly after the first allegations were made" about rendition.
One of the seven amendments supports the Government in its engagement with the work of the Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) and recalls its chairman's observation that the "Government has one of the finest records on human rights". This will prove controversial given that the IHRC has accused the Government of not living up to its human rights obligations by failing to inspect aircraft at Irish airports.
The amendments, which have been drafted by the Government and Mr Ryan, will face stiff opposition from several groups in the parliament including the socialists, greens and the left-wing GUE/NGL alliance. Some in the parliament's largest political grouping, the European People's Party (EPP), and also the liberal group will oppose them.
The Italian socialist MEP who drafted the report, Claudio Fava, was involved in angry exchanges with Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern, when he attended the committee in November. Mr Fava noted that Ireland had the third-highest number of CIA flight stopovers in Europe, prompting Mr Ahern to accuse him of making unsubstantiated and ambiguous allegations on Ireland's role in CIA rendition.
Pronsias De Rossa, a Labour MEP on the committee, said Fianna Fáil's attempt to delete sections of the draft report showed the Government had failed in its obligations in relation to rendition.
"They also run the risk of having tougher language adopted by the parliament in the final version of the report if they start messing around now," said Mr De Rossa, who will also table amendments today, including one that endorses the view of the IHRC that Ireland is not meeting its obligations under human rights law by failing to introduce a proper random inspection regime at all Irish airports for suspect flights.
But Eoin Ryan, the only Fianna Fáil representative on the parliamentary committee, said the draft report should be amended.