Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

There was a second article on 17 October that reiterated the claim that the State had allowed the transfer of munitions of war on board a US military plane and, indeed, that it had apparently been authorised by me to touch down at Shannon Airport to travel through Irish territory on its way to Israel.

Having reviewed the Department’s records, the flight in question was a civil aircraft that travelled from South Carolina to Athens in Greece and landed in Shannon Airport on 12 October for a technical stopover. As this was a civil aircraft, no request for diplomatic clearance would have been sought or required from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The granting or refusal of an application for an exemption to carry ammunition of war is a matter for the Department of Transport. As the flight was carrying the unloaded personal weapons of troops, it was required to apply to the Department of Transport for such an exemption. The flight in question received an exemption to carry munitions from the Department of Transport.

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