Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 92 and 162 together.

Responsibility for the regulation of foreign aircraft landing or overflying the State is shared between Departments. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has primary responsibility for the regulation of foreign military and other foreign state aircraft, while the Department of Transport leads on the regulation of civil aircraft. Under the terms of the Air Navigation (Foreign Military Aircraft) Order 1952, all foreign military aircraft wishing to overfly, or land in, the State require diplomatic clearance from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Diplomatic clearance is subject to strict conditions, including that the aircraft is unarmed; that it carries no arms, ammunition or explosives; that it does not engage in intelligence gathering; and that the flight in question does not form part of a military exercise or operation. It is expressly prohibited for civil aircraft to carry munitions of war in Irish sovereign territory without being granted an exemption to do so by the Minister for Transport.

The system of exemptions is operated under the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Orders 1973 and 1989 by the Department of Transport. In 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025, no applications have been received or exemptions granted for the carriage of munitions of war on civil aircraft to a point in Israel.

The policy of diplomatic clearance is well known and is fully understood by the United States and other international partners, and is done in full compliance with Ireland’s traditional policy of military neutrality. Since October 2023, diplomatic clearance has been granted on a small number of occasions for US military aircraft to land in Shannon for the specific purpose of transporting senior officials travelling from the United States to the Middle East. Stringent procedures for diplomatic clearance were followed in full on each of these occasions.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is committed to the highest standards of transparency on this issue, which is why it publishes monthly statistics in relation to overflights and landings of foreign military and state aircraft on the gov.iewebsite. The current information on the website covers the period from 2015 to last month, September 2025. My Department will continue to publish details relating to overflights and landings on a monthly basis, as well as work to compile and publish historical data relating to overflights and the landing of foreign military aircraft where and when possible.

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