John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Under the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Order, the carriage of weapons through Shannon Airport on commercial aircraft is prohibited unless an exemption has been obtained in advance from the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. My information is no exemptions have been sought or obtained at any stage by the American Government. Like many other people, I do not believe for one second that the 600 military aeroplanes or other aeroplanes that have passed through Shannon Airport have not been carrying some form of weapons, apart from the personal weapons the troops themselves may carry. Were that the case, why would the American Government have a problem with having examined some of the aeroplanes either by independent examiners or members of the Irish Government? Mr. Burgess referred to good faith and so on. Given the very nature of the Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, would he believe what it would tell him to the effect there are no arms or munitions on any of the aeroplanes? The problem that troubles me is the possibility that if by some chance there were arms or munitions on those aeroplanes, they could be sent on missions of destruction to destroy human beings or property in places such as Iraq, Afghanistan or wherever. That would be very troubling. Like many people, I simply do not believe that of all the aeroplanes that have passed through Shannon Airport, none has been carrying some form of munitions or arms. Were that the case, I believe that all American military personnel would travel on normal flights. Why would they travel on a military flight and why would they not allow the aeroplane to be boarded and checked?

Does Ireland not have an obligation to check that a military flight coming into our country is not carrying munitions to bring devastation upon people's lives, regardless of whether we agree with the armed intervention? What sums this up for me is that, quite simply, even within the United States itself, some former military personnel have admitted that aeroplanes flying from all countries are carrying arms and munitions and have been involved in rendition. There is an onus and a responsibility on Ireland as a neutral country to be able to check any military flight coming into this country from wherever - this is not anti-American - to ensure it is not carrying munitions or arms with which to engage in a conflict, wherever that conflict might be. I repeat that it simply does not wash with me and it would be naive to think that simply because the CIA would say there are no munitions or arms on an aeroplane, it is to be believed. I must state that I find it shameful that Ireland allows this to happen. If they are carrying munitions or arms, indirectly the Government could be responsible for the deaths of innocent people in other countries without even being in a position to intervene, on our own territory, to ascertain whether munitions or arms are being carried on any of the aeroplanes. I consider that to be quite astonishing.