Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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86. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if there is a new special arrangement in place regarding refuelling for Canadian military aircraft at Shannon; if sovereign immunity has been granted to them by the Irish Government; the international law or treaty under which this is being permitted and whether it should not be superseded by our neutrality and the UN Convention against Torture. [48803/13]

Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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115. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade further to Parliamentary Question No. 727 of 5 November 2013, the basis for granting sovereign immunity; the law it is in accordance with; the way this impacts on Ireland's responsiblity to uphold international treaties like the Geneva Convention, Hague Convention and the UN Convention Against Torture. [48925/13]

Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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As the Tánaiste is aware, there has been a sharp increase in the number of Canadian military aircraft using Shannon Airport. In a written answer to my question last week the Tánaiste told me he was not in a position to provide any information about that. I want to know why that is the case. Does the Tánaiste not know, or does he know but does not want to tell us? Neither answer is acceptable in a country which claims to be neutral.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 86 and 115 together. I am not aware of any new special arrangement in place for the refuelling of Canadian military aircraft at Shannon Airport. In accordance with Article 29.3 of the Constitution, Ireland accepts the generally recognised principles of international law as its rule of conduct in its relations with other states. Sovereign immunity, also known as State immunity, is a long-standing principle of customary international law. Sovereign immunity is recognised as applying in respect of foreign state or military aircraft. Sovereign immunity is not granted by any decision of the Government, but applies automatically as a matter of law. However, there are legal rules governing the entry of foreign state aircraft into Irish territory.

Under the Air Navigation (Foreign Military Aircraft) Order 1952, all foreign military aircraft require the permission of the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to overfly or land in the State. Permission is requested by the embassy of the country concerned. When overflight or landing permission is granted to foreign military aircraft, certain conditions are normally applied, such as that the aircraft are unarmed, are not carrying arms, ammunition or explosives, are not engaged in intelligence gathering and are not taking part in military exercises or operations. These conditions apply to all military aircraft landing at Shannon Airport.

The doctrine of sovereign immunity is recognised in Irish law, although there is no domestic legislation on the topic. This was acknowledged by the Supreme Court in the case of Canada v. Employment Appeals Tribunal, 1992. There is no incompatibility between Ireland’s respect for the principle of sovereign immunity and its traditional policy of neutrality, which is characterised by non-participation in military alliances. Similarly, as the doctrine of sovereign immunity is recognised by the international community, respect for the principle does not interfere with Ireland's fulfilling the obligations arising from the international treaties to which the State is a party.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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I am not sure I am any the wiser following that response. What the Tánaiste seems to be saying is that there is sovereign immunity but that it is subservient to other aspects of international law, that it is not something that is sought. He goes on to say military aircraft landing at Shannon Airport require permission from him as Minister and that they are required to adhere to certain rules such as being unarmed and so on. Obviously, one aircraft was caught out as its arms were so visible they could not be ignored. However, how does the Tánaiste know aircraft landing there are not armed? How does he know they are not carrying military personnel if no checks are carried out? There seems to be a discrepancy between the role of the Garda and the Department. The Garda believes it has a role and takes on board complaints made about this matter. Members of the Judiciary have adjudicated on the issue and referred residents with complaints about searching aircraft to the Garda. However, the Tánaiste seems to think that is not necessary. I wonder why so many soldiers or passengers are being carried by military aircraft and landing at Shannon Airport if they are not engaged in military activity.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I have answered the two questions tabled by the Deputy on sovereign immunity and how it operates. As I said in my reply, sovereign immunity is not something that is conferred by the Government from time to time but a matter of international law. The position on military aircraft landing in this country is very clear and governed by statute. There is a requirement on any country wishing to land a military aircraft in Ireland or overfly Irish airspace to apply to me for permission. The conditions attaching to that permission are very clear. The aircraft must be unarmed and cannot be part of a military mission. These issues are decided on a case by case basis.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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The problem is that they are not. Last week I asked the Tánaiste in a question tabled for written reply about a specific Hercules aircraft that had been at Shannon Airport on 6 November and whether it had been carrying passengers or cargo. We were led to believe it had been carrying passengers because of where it had landed. However, the Tánaiste's response to me was that he was not in a position to give that information. If he is not in a position to know whether it was carrying passengers or cargo, how does he know the criteria of international law which he has specified to the House today are being fulfilled? How does he know the criteria are being fulfilled in terms of treaties such as the Geneva and Hague conventions, the arms trade treaty, the UN convention against torture, all of which we have signed up to, and how does he know these military aircraft are not breaching these criteria? How does he know if the aircraft have not been searched? With aeroplanes that had not been searched, it had to be acknowledged that there were breaches when they were so obvious. How do we know other aircraft are not doing the same?

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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On Friday some 43 people died in clashes between militia in Libya; on Sunday some 22 people died in bomb attacks in Iraq and now in Helmand it is commonly expected that there will be a return to power of the Taliban. All of this is the result of uninvited military interventions to topple installed governments, all of which ended in disaster. Although Ireland claims to be a neutral country, we have played our part in this. We have helped to bring it about by facilitating the use of Shannon Airport by the US military authorities. We have facilitated military activity in these regions. When the Tánaiste was in opposition, he wanted aeroplanes to be inspected. We are not taking a neutral position. Why does the Tánaiste not want aeroplanes to be inspected now?

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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The scope of the question has been widened somewhat. The question tabled was about sovereign immunity. The position is clear in that there are conditions attached to the landing of any military aircraft at an Irish airport. The aircraft must have permission to land. The conditions attached are that they must be unarmed and they cannot be part of a military operation. On the specific case of Canada, it is the case that a small number of Canadian military aircraft land at Shannon Airport each year. Therefore, their presence is not particularly unusual.

The number is relatively small in comparison with the volume of US military aircraft which transit through the airport. I understand Canada is considering the possibility of increasing the number of aircraft which use the airport for refuelling purposes, but no special arrangements will apply to these aircraft. They will have to comply with the same conditions as all military aircraft landing at Shannon Airport.

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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With regard to the fixed-weapon aircraft which landed at Shannon Airport, the Tánaiste stated previously that it had been an administrative error. The difficulty is we do not know what is on board many of the aircraft. It is like Donald Rumsfeld's unknown unknowns. As we do not seem to carry out any inspection, it will continue to be unknown. The concern of workers and civilians using the airport is that we do not know what is on board. The Government has a responsibility in this regard and we would like it to inspect some of the aircraft. Are there plans to do so?

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I have replied to parliamentary questions - another question has been tabled today - on the one occasion on which a US military aircraft did not comply with the conditions set down. This was reported to the Department through the Garda Síochána and the authorities at Shannon Airport. We brought in the US Chargé d'Affaires and made it very clear what the position was. We received an explanation for what had happened and assurances that steps were being taken to ensure it would not happen again.