Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 27 September 2006
892 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if airports here are being used to transport military equipment from, to, or on behalf of Israel; if requests for licences for such through-carriage have been requested; if so, the number of same; the number of these licences which have been granted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28287/06]
View answerThe Air Navigation (Foreign Military Aircraft) Order 1952 gives the Minister for Foreign Affairs primary responsibility for the regulation of activity by foreign military aircraft in Ireland. The regulation of the transport of munitions of war by civil aircraft is primarily a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Transport, to whom I understand an identical question has been put. The views of the Department of Foreign Affairs are sought on all such requests for the transit of munitions of war. In this regard, for example, I made clear during the recent crisis that permission would not be granted to any application for the transport of munitions of war to Israel. A search of my Department's records of overflight and landing requests for foreign military aircraft since 1 January 2003 has revealed no request related to traffic of the type described by the Deputy.
