Brendan McGahon
Ceist:12 Mr. McGahon asked the Minister for Defence the number of visits which have been made by Irish Naval patrol boats to Carlingford Lough in the past year; and if there is a regular pattern to these visits.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Naval Patrols.
The Naval Service carried out seven patrols of Carlingford Lough since 1 January 1990. For operational reasons it would not be desirable to disclose if there is a regular pattern to the patrols.
Is there any contact made with the United Kingdom authorities when such patrols are initiated?
Yes, it is a two-way exercise.
——a two-way process. Is this liaison established on every occasion on which patrols are initiated?
This matter of territorial claims is specifically one for the Minister for Foreign Affairs. With regard to the subject with which we are dealing here, I would not be in a position to tell the Deputy whether contact is made on every occasion, but I can inform him that two-way communications are maintained on a regular basis.
Is the Minister aware of the sense of grievance on the part of many of the local population at irregularities on the part of British forces who, on occasion, have actually come ashore in the Greenore Harbour area? Can the Minister give the House any information with regard to the frequency of the arrival of Irish patrol boats in the Carlingford Lough area?
I have already stated that the Naval Service carried out seven patrols of Carlingford Lough since 1 January 1990.
While they are rare, incursions by British forces from the patrol boat in the lough have on occasions occurred inside the area of Greenore Harbour. Can the Minister give me any reassurance that the Government view those incursions with concern and that they have made representations to the British Government as a result?
Yes, we do express concern and that matter has been raised on a number of occasions at the Anglo-Irish Conference by the Minister for Foreign Affairs.