Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 December 2005
151 Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will amend the terms of the order allowing United States use of Shannon Airport to allow for periodic inspections of these planes by the Garda Síochána in view of the findings of the Swedish parliamentary investigation that the CIA violated Swedish law using a plane that has landed in Shannon Airport on at least 16 occasions since 2000. [38647/05]
Amharc ar fhreagraPolicy with respect to landings by foreign military aircraft is based on the Air Navigation (Foreign Military Aircraft) Order 1952. This gives the Minister for Foreign Affairs discretion in the granting of permission to foreign military aircraft to overfly or land in the State. Permission is normally granted on certain conditions, such as that the aircraft is unarmed, is not carrying arms, ammunition or explosives, is not engaged in intelligence gathering and is not taking part in military exercises or operations. These conditions are not legal requirements but are policy stipulations which are applied at the discretion of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and which can be waived or varied at any time. On the other hand, policy with respect to landings by civilian aircraft is primarily a matter for the Minister for Transport. Both the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and I have consistently made it clear that if anyone has evidence to demonstrate that prisoners have been wrongly and unlawfully transferred through Irish territory, then that evidence should be given to the Garda Síochána. I am not aware of any such evidence. The matter would then become an issue of law enforcement, albeit with an interstate dimension.
During my visit to the United States last week, I met the US Secretary of State, Dr Condoleezza Rice, in Washington DC. I raised with her the allegations that have been made regarding the rendition of prisoners and the use of Irish airports. As the Taoiseach made clear to the House earlier this week, the Secretary of State confirmed the assurances that we have previously received from the US authorities that prisoners have not been "rendered" through Irish airports or airspace, nor would they be, without the permission of the Irish authorities first being sought. No such request for permission has been received.
