Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left) | Oireachtas source

I beg to differ. I do not think we are in sync with international practice at all. No search has ever been carried out on any aircraft. Deputy Wallace rang the Garda in Shannon last week to report his suspicions of two aircraft that had landed. The Garda would not carry out a search because it claimed it did not have enough evidence, which is the very point of why it would need to search in the first place.

These are very serious issues. The Secretary General of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade gave evidence to the Joint Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions prior to Christmas. He said that these aircraft were given specific permission to carry personal weaponry and get the exemption based on the fact that the armoury would be in the hold and not accessible.

Information appeared in the press on Tuesday about two people who said they had seen such armoury on the actual planes. Does the Minister think that the Department should intervene and do something about that as it took place on civilian aircraft?

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