I propose to take Question Nos. 407, 409, 410 and 442 together.
The Department of Foreign Affairs is not aware of any application by the US authorities to transport either napalm or Mark 77 air-drop bombs through Shannon. Foreign military aircraft landing in Shannon have to comply with the stipulations that they are unarmed and carry no arms, ammunition, explosives or intelligence gathering equipment. Chartered civilian aircraft sometimes transport military cargo through Shannon. However, this primarily involves personal weapons and ammunition for those weapons. Permission for the transport of any military cargo on civilian aircraft must be obtained in advance from the Department of Transport which, in turn, consults with the Department of Foreign Affairs before reaching a decision.
The Government is accordingly satisfied that all aircraft in the employ of the US defence authorities are compliant with our national stipulations governing permission to avail of landing facilities in Shannon. It should be noted that Shannon is only one of a number of refuelling stops availed of by the US military en route to destinations in the Gulf and elsewhere. In the absence of specific evidence demonstrating the use of such weapons in Iraq, I cannot comment further on the matter.
