THE STATE'S operational approach to searching US aircraft in Shannon remains opaque and unclear, Labour's spokesman on foreign affairs Michael D Higgins has said.
According to Mr Higgins, no US-registered aircraft have been searched as they passed through Shannon since 2003, even though there have been allegations that some have been used for the extraordinary rendition of prisoners.
Mr Higgins was commenting following allegations about a US-registered civilian aircraft which passed through Shannon at the weekend. Veteran peace activist Ed Horgan said a private jet which passed through on Friday and again on Saturday had sufficient time to travel to Iraq or Afghanistan to collect prisoners.
Mr Horgan, a former Army commandant, said he observed the aircraft at Shannon on Friday. He said the same aircraft was known to have landed and refuelled at Shannon in March. On Saturday, the same civilian aircraft - a small private jet - again refuelled at Shannon on its return journey to the United States. It left Shannon at about 12:40pm.
One of its stops in the US was Fort Lauderdale, which peace campaigners say is a stop-off point for Guantánamo Bay in Cuba.
Mr Higgins said he had raised the question of such stopovers in the Dáil on numerous occasions.
Mr Horgan said the purpose of the weekend flight remained unknown. "The authorities here consistently refuse to search aircraft at Shannon although they are entitled to do so," he said.