I propose to take Questions Nos. 302, 343, 440, 544, 545 and 546 together.
Visits from foreign naval vessels are a long-standing and common practice in Ireland and worldwide. It is therefore normal and welcome for foreign naval vessels to visit Irish ports, whether that be to carry out joint training with the Irish Naval Service or simply to take crew rest.
As I have noted previously, foreign naval vessels are only granted permission to visit Irish ports on condition that they meet the necessary policy stipulations. In particular, these require that naval vessels visiting Irish ports do not carry nuclear weapons and do not engage in military exercises.
In this instance, permission was requested earlier this month for the Royal Navy survey ship, HMS Enterprise, to pay a routine visit to Cork from the 12th to the 18th of June. Permission was granted on the basis of the conditions that I have already outlined, i.e. that the vessel not engage in any military exercises or naval manoeuvres or carry nuclear weapons.
Nevertheless, it is customary for the crew of a naval vessel to be armed, including when paying a visit to a foreign port. The Firearms Act 1925 as amended provides a specific exemption to the requirement to have a firearms certificate where the possession of a firearm is on board a ship as part of the equipment of the ship.
Security arrangements for such visits are ultimately a matter for An Garda Síochána, with whom my Department consults before granting permission for a ship to visit.
Ireland’s longstanding policy of neutrality is characterised by non-membership of military alliances and means that we do not participate in common or mutual defence arrangements. In this context, port visits like that of the HMS Enterprise are not indicative of anything other than our desire for friendly relations with our neighbours and our desire for the Irish Naval Service to be equipped to communicate with other navies where necessary.
On this occasion, the Irish Naval Service also availed of this opportunity to engage in a joint communication exercise with the British vessel in question outside Irish territorial waters.
I would note that the Irish Naval Service itself regularly visits foreign ports in precisely the same manner, including ports in the UK.