Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We were told recently by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade that the US was being granted blanket permission for overflights of unarmed military aircraft. Military aircraft are landing in Shannon Airport and the Defence Forces are more or less protecting them from anyone who might want to reveal the truth that they are in breach of international law by carrying munitions through a supposedly neutral country. What would the Minister think of using the Defence Forces to check the planes to make sure that they are not carrying arms? The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed that there were 48 such overflights, aside from the ones that landed in Shannon. We do not even get the details of these. There is an ad hoc arrangement with the US which confirms that the aircraft are not carrying munitions, after the event. Most neutral countries, such as Austria and Switzerland, insist on the information's being given in advance.

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