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

We will obviously digest that information. It follows on from the multiple pages received by Shannonwatch concerning permits sought for 2014. Based on the evidence the Minister has given us today, if anything the number of those requests has increased. In the main they come from the US.

Has the Minister any comments or concerns regarding the types of material that were transited last year? For example, between the USA and Afghanistan, 190 tonnes of ammunition and bullets passed over and through Shannon, probably destined for the Afghan army.​

As Members are aware from Iraq, it often ends up in the hands of the opponents, in this case the Taliban and ISIS. Based on the information the Minister has provided today and in the aforementioned freedom of information request, Ireland now is complicit in activities that are giving rise to the crisis talks in the European Union today with the numbers of refugees and so on. The Minister told Members previously that the requests must be verified by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade 48 hours in advance. I now am asking whether the Minister can tell Members if this happens in all cases. Where is the written report kept for those requests, including when those requests are not granted, which obviously is in a very small number of cases?

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