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

Successive Governments have made overflight and landing facilities available at Shannon Airport to the United States for well over 50 years. The Air Navigation (Foreign Military Aircraft) Order 1952 gives the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade primary responsibility for the regulation of activity by foreign military aircraft in this jurisdiction. Arrangements under which permission is granted for US military aircraft to land at Irish airports are governed by strict conditions. These include stipulations that the aircraft must be unarmed, carry no arms, ammunition or explosives and must not engage in intelligence gathering, and that the flights in question must not form any part of military exercises or operations. Under the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Order 1973, the carriage of weapons on commercial aircraft, including chartered civilian aircraft, is prohibited unless an exemption has been obtained in advance from the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. The majority of US troops transiting through Shannon Airport are carried on chartered civilian aircraft. Where it is proposed that troops on such a flight should be accompanied by their personal weapons, an exemption request must be sought in respect of each individual flight.

There are no plans to curtail or to stop the movement of military aircraft through Irish airports and air space which takes place in accordance with those strict conditions. I am satisfied that the arrangements are fully consistent with Ireland’s policies and legal requirements, including our long-established policy of military neutrality which involves non-participation in military alliances.

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