Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I want to make two points, the first of which is a reiteration of a point I made earlier. I ask committee members to appreciate the clear distinction between civil and military aircraft. In his earlier contribution, Senator Ó Clochartaigh spoke about military aircraft. When he referred in his supplementary contribution to certain arms on board airplanes, he was speaking specifically about civil aircraft, which are prohibited from carrying weapons or munitions through Irish airspace unless an exemption has been obtained in advance from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. When the Department is considering requests for exemptions made by commercial carriers, it seeks the advice of other Departments. As a matter of policy, the Department recommends against the carriage of items such as cluster munitions, anti-personnel landmines and chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. The Department generally recommends against the carriage of missiles, bombs and rockets. Often it does not object to the carriage of items such as unloaded personal weapons, small arms and ammunition.