asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the action he proposes to take regarding the crossing of the Border by British helicopters.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Helicopter Border Crossings.
2.
Representations are made to the British authorities, and an explanation is sought, in those cases in which it is clear that there has been an unauthorised crossing of the Border by British helicopters.
Some crossings have, however, been authorised following consultation with the Minister for Defence. The overriding consideration in taking a decision in such cases has been the need to save human lives. It is not intended to change our policy in this respect.
Taking into account the frequency of crossings is it not a reasonable assumption that the pilots flying at low levels in daylight must be guilty of either rank carelessness or of making those crossings as part of a deliberate policy?
There are, under the conditions which prevail, risks of unintentional crossings. There may also be other kinds of crossings. Unauthorised helicopter overflights over our territory are extremely regretted. Representations are made and will continue to be made to the British authorities whenever it is clear that such an incident has occurred. Unfortunately the risk of such overflights will remain high as long as illegal organisations continue to put lives at risk on both sides of the Border by acts of terrorism. People who deplore the overflights would do well also to make clear that they condemn the terrorist activities which give rise to these dangers and others which are even more serious.
That is not a fair comment. The question is whether the Minister is satisfied that the British authorities are taking reasonable precautions regarding those crossings?
In a number of cases we have made representations. The representations imply that we are not necessarily so satisfied in relation to those particular cases.
May I ask the Minister in cases where overflights have taken place without the authority granted by the Irish Minister for Defence and where representations have been made by the Irish Government what response has been received from the British authorities to these representations?
Four replies were received in recent months. In three cases there was a denial that the incident took place. That is to say the British authorities contested the view of the facts. In one case they expressed doubt that an incident occurred. Further replies are promised.