Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 November 2023
15. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs to give a complete overview of the process that the US military must follow when moving personnel through Irish Airports on US Military aircraft transiting through Irish airports since January 2022. [50105/23]
View answer16. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs to provide a record of all US Military flights that have passed through Shannon Airport since the beginning of October 2023. [50106/23]
View answer18. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs to give a detailed account of all oversight procedures implemented by his Department, other Government Departments and/or the Irish Aviation Authority on flights granted exemptions for the carriage of munitions of war, weapons and dangerous goods through Irish airports (inspections of aircraft, inspections of manifests, Garda deployment, etc.). [50103/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 15, 16 and 18 together.
Under the terms of the Air Navigation (Foreign Military Aircraft) Order, 1952, all foreign military aircraft wishing to overfly, or land in, the State require diplomatic clearance from the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Diplomatic clearance is subject to strict conditions, including that the aircraft is unarmed; that it carries no arms, ammunition or explosives; that it does not engage in intelligence gathering; and that the flight in question does not form part of a military exercise or operation.
This policy is well known and is fully understood by the United States and other international partners.
The Department of Foreign Affairs publishes statistics in relation to overflights and landings of foreign military and state aircraft on the Department’s website. This includes details on the number of US military aircraft that have landed in Shannon Airport this year.
With regards to munitions of war on board civil aircraft, under the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Orders 1973 and 1989, it is expressly prohibited for civil aircraft to carry munitions of war in Irish sovereign territory, without being granted an exemption to do so by the Minister for Transport.
In considering any application for such an exemption in respect of munitions of war, the Department of Transport consults with the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Justice to determine if there are foreign policy or security considerations to take into account. The process is robust and includes advice from the Department of Foreign Affairs in respect of international humanitarian law, Ireland’s international obligations and our wider arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation policy.
