Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My understanding is that we were there assisting An Garda Síochána, having been requested to do so before the aircraft landed. We happened to be there when it landed and we were still there when it took off.

In terms of the granting of permission, under the Air Navigation (Foreign Military Aircraft) Order 1952, all foreign military aircraft require the permission of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to overfly or to land in the State. That is where the primary responsibility lies. I do not have the full details as to the reason the aircraft landed but it was presumably diverted for some reason. I suspect we can get the details from the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. From a defence perspective, I do not think there was any threat to this country from facilitating the landing.

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