Military Aircraft

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 February 2024

Tuesday, 20 February 2024

Questions (124)

Mairéad Farrell

Question:

124. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 136 of 13 February 2024, what steps were taken to ensure that the aircraft is unarmed; that it carries no arms, ammunition or explosives; that it does not engage in intelligence gathering; that the flight in question does not form part of a military exercise or operation, especially as no US military aircraft ever leaves its bases in the US or its foreign bases around the world unless it is on a military operation or on a military exercise, and that US soldiers travelling to war zones on these military aircraft are normally required to bring their personal weapons with them; and how he reconciles these DFA restrictions on military aircraft with the fact that successive Ministers for Transport since 2001 have been approving the transit of over three million US soldiers through Shannon Airport on civilian aircraft on contract to the US military and approving the fact that most of the US soldiers are carrying their personal automatic rifles with them on these aircraft. [7813/24]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs

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 our international partners, including the United States.

As I have stated previously, I am satisfied that the correct diplomatic clearance procedures for foreign military landings were followed in full in respect to the landings in question.

Furthermore, 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 on applications to determine if there are foreign policy or security considerations to take into account.

It is the long-standing policy of the Department of Foreign Affairs not to disclose details relating to the specifics of diplomatic clearance requests, as such information is provided by Embassies in the expectation of the maintenance of confidentiality. However, the Department of Foreign Affairs does publish statistics in relation to overflights and landings of foreign military and state aircraft on the Department’s website.