Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 17 June 2015

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions

Shannon Airport Landings: Discussion (Resumed)

4:00 pm

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

I thank the Deputy for his remarks. Again, it is important that we retain a clear distinction between military overflights and landings, on the one hand, and civilian landings that may have military personnel, on the other hand. In terms of the military overflights, which was the exact question, the numbers are falling. The number of requests in 2013 was 50% below the total for ten years ago and there was a further reduction of 25% last year over the figures for 2013. Approximately two thirds of notifications and requests for overflights received in 2014 related directly to flights and aircraft of the United States. Some 12 requests to overfly Irish territory were refused in 2014 on the basis they did not meet the strict conditions that the aircraft was unarmed or carrying no arms or ammunition, as I stated earlier.

Annual numbers of landing requests fluctuate. It would be unwise of me to speculate as to the reasons. We deal with the numbers as they occur. The average number of landing requests by military aircraft in the past four years, between 2010 and 2014, was something more than 700. Of those 700, an estimated 85% of those related to aircraft of the United States of America. From the latest figures we have, comparing the first quarters of 2015 and 2014, the total number of requests and notifications is down one third whereas the number of US overflights have more than halved over the same period. The trend is certainly downwards and we deal with matters on the basis of our notifications in respect of landings.

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