Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

On a regular basis, we uphold the law by refusing applications for munitions to be either carried through Irish airspace or land in Irish airports. It is a relatively small number. Each year, on a routine basis, the Minister for Transport will assess any such application and, on a regular basis, say "No" under international law and under our rights as set out in the Chicago Convention. It is important that we uphold the rights in international law and get it right in international law, so we have that power and capability.

The response to the concerns people had preceded what was published in The Ditch. As I said, earlier this summer before any of that analysis or information became available, I went into the Seanad and made it explicit and clear that we needed to strengthen our legal provisions and give us enhanced capability, first, to search aircraft on a random basis when on the tarmac in Irish airports; second, and difficult as this is, I believe it can be achieved through international law, to sample what the manifests are in overflights so we can check whether an application should have been made, and it may not have been made; and, third, to strengthen and improve our ability to sanction in that regard.

This Government was steering in that direction, publicly and had committed in these Houses to do so, before any of that information was revealed in The Ditch. In response to that information, we reiterated and put out an international restatement of our insistence that any carrier using Irish airspace or landing in Irish airports carrying munitions had to, under international law, apply to do so. We contacted every single one of the air carriers cited in those articles and are still looking for further details from them.

It has taken some time, longer than I would like, but we are persistent in getting and collating that information. Initial sight of that information would indicate that a number of the flights suggested were not in breach of international law and were not carrying munitions as might be defined by the Chicago Convention. Therefore, we have to be careful about sweeping statements and real certainty when the evidence needs to be considered in much more detail. We will continue to do that and more importantly, enhance the legislation so that we can provide assurance to the Irish public that yes, we are upholding our rights in that way. It is not easy, but it is something to which we are absolutely committed, particularly because of the circumstances of what is happening in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank and to back up the case and stand we have taken in the International Court of Justice and in supporting the International Criminal Court and UNRWA, financially and immediately, in the most important way in the middle of that crisis. There is no lack of commitment; far from it, t is the exact opposite, for us to play our part in every way we can to halt that particular war and the atrocities that are occurring on a daily basis. We need to do that through international law if we are to have real strength in our impact.

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