Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 April 2024
4. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of US military aircraft inspected in Shannon by the IAA for weapons on stopover while en route to Israel since 7 October 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16946/24]
View answerAll foreign military aircraft wishing to overfly, or land in, the State require diplomatic clearance from the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Permission to land 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, and is conducted in compliance with Ireland’s traditional policy of military neutrality.
Foreign military aircraft which are given permission to land in Ireland are not subject to inspection in this regard. Sovereign immunity, a long-standing principle of customary international law, means that a state may not exercise its jurisdiction in respect to another state or its property, including state and military aircraft. This principle applies automatically to foreign State or military aircraft in the same way that it applies to Irish State or military aircraft abroad.
All such landings by military aircraft are required to seek and receive prior diplomatic clearance, and are subject to the routine and strict stipulations, as outlined above.
Furthermore, the carriage of munitions of war is prohibited on any civil aircraft in Irish sovereign territory unless an exemption is granted by the Minister for Transport, as implemented in the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Orders 1973 and 1989.
In 2023 and to date in 2024, no applications have been received or exemptions granted for the carriage of munitions of war on civil aircraft to a point in Israel.
As I have stated previously, no airport in Ireland, or Irish sovereign airspace, is being used to transport weapons to the conflict in the Middle East.
