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

They are sweeping statements.

My job as Minister for Defence is to ensure that when we make the decision to send Irish troops to different parts of the world, they are making a positive contribution towards stabilisation, peace support and peacekeeping, and that is exactly what they do. My job is to be prepared when An Garda Síochána asks for assistance in terms of aid to the civil power, whether it is in Shannon Airport or elsewhere. To date, the only threat to planes landing in Shannon Airport has been Irish people who were looking to create headlines in that regard.

We have a relationship with the United States, which is not one where we are allies but is certainly very friendly, and we facilitate the United States in Shannon Airport under fairly strict conditions. That is what it is, but the Deputy reads all sorts of extras into it that simply are not there.

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