Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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5. To ask the Minister for Defence the number of occasions in 2013 on which An Garda Síochána requested support from the Defence Forces at Shannon Airport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5576/14]

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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Most people realise that funding is scarce, but that is all the more reason to ask why the State continues to spend money facilitating war efforts through Shannon Airport. People in the Curragh are being threatened with eviction from their homes, yet we can still find money to facilitate a war effort that has resulted in the slaughter of more than 1 million people.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy's question is about the number of occasions in 2013 on which the Garda Síochána requested support from the Defence Forces at Shannon Airport. It does not reference war efforts or 1 million people being slaughtered. I do not know where the Deputy thinks 1 million people have been slaughtered or why anything happening in Shannon Airport has resulted in that slaughter.

In the context of the actual question the Deputy raised, the answer is as follows. An Garda Síochána has the primary responsibility for law and order, including protection of the internal security of the State. Among the roles assigned to the Defence Forces is the provision of aid to the civil power, or ATCP for short, which in practice means to assist An Garda Síochána when requested to do so.

The Defence Forces have provided assistance to An Garda Síochána at Shannon Airport since 2003. In 2013, Defence Force personnel were deployed to Shannon Airport on 324 occasions in response to requests for support from An Garda Síochána. The length of each such deployment and the number of relevant aircraft that land and take off during each deployment can vary. For example, on a given day troops may be deployed to Shannon Airport once, but the mission as formally requested by the Garda may relate to the arrival and departure of more than one aircraft. On other occasions, for example, if a single aircraft is on the ground for an extended period, perhaps overnight, this may involve two or more deployments of troops, as each shift is generally of 12 hours' duration.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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It is amazing to learn that the Defence Forces were called on 324 occasions. As the Minister is aware, Margaretta D'Arcy is still in prison. It is interesting to note the comments of the former UN Assistant Secretary General, who highlighted that Ms D'Arcy's refusal to sign a bond not to return to Shannon Airport is based on her belief in the Nuremberg principle of 1945 whereby individual citizens of any country have international duties and responsibilities that transcend national and domestic obligations of obedience to local law. If commonsense were to prevail, would this 79 year old woman not be released? What purpose is being served by her imprisonment? The Minister can argue that she cannot be released because the law is the law, but if the law were black and white, we would not need judges. It seems a strange call on the part of the State that a 79 year old woman has been locked up, especially given the number of people who were responsible for deaths and have not seen the inside of a prison.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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From the Deputy's engagement with the courts, we know he has no respect for the law. He is now raising issues that fall within the brief of the justice area, but I am happy to deal with them. What he has just said is untrue. He stated that the person he named had been asked to sign a bond not to return to Shannon Airport. That is entirely untrue. What the person has been asked to do is to sign a bond to keep the peace. A condition of her release was that she does not enter a portion of Shannon Airport excluded to the general public. She is perfectly entitled to be in any part of Shannon Airport that is open to the general public. If common sense were operating and the lady in question were not being used by a small group of individuals as a campaigning tool in the context of the issue the Deputy referenced earlier, common sense would have prevailed and she would have signed a bond to keep the peace. If she wished to attend at Shannon Airport and behave in a lawful way, she could do so. There is no question of her signing a bond.

It is offensive in the context of this issue to reference Nuremberg, and I wonder why the Deputy feels the need to make that reference in questions he puts to me. I am very interested and he might clarify that.

I must not say too much else because my understanding is that a further prosecution is pending in the case of a similar difficulty. My responsibility is to ensure that individuals do not wander out onto the runways in Shannon Airport, placing their lives at risk and possibly placing at risk the lives of 200 or 300 passengers. What would happen if the lady in question, accompanied by her some of her friends, were to wander onto a runway, God forbid, as an aeroplane was landing? If the pilot sought to avoid killing them and, as a consequence, the aeroplane crashed and 200 or 300 people died, would the Deputy take responsibility for that?

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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The Minister informed the House that the Defence Forces were called to Shannon Airport 324 times in 2013. The airport also has access to a strong Garda force. He tells us that to keep a 79 year old woman on a zimmer frame off the runway, she has to be put in jail. What planet is the Minister living on?

The Minister can throw as many personal jibes at me as he likes about issues I have had with the law and he can claim I am a law-breaker. I could throw stuff across the floor at him but I am not remotely interested in getting personal with him. He is letting himself down. I do not understand the reason he takes such an approach.

Will the Minister consider meeting Margaretta D'Arcy? She has a mind of her own and is not being used by anybody. She is in prison in Limerick and it would be a good move for the Minister to sit down and have a chat with her.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy is consistently personal with me, but that is his prerogative. I note he did not explain his reference to Nuremberg. I know exactly why he is making that reference. He should have the courage to explain where he is coming from when he makes that reference.

In relation to this particular issue, a court order was made and was not appealed, as I noted previously. Margaretta D'Arcy could be released from prison later today or tomorrow morning if she signs the bond, as directed by the judge. There would be no reason for her to be in prison if she complied with the condition of staying off the runway.

I do not know whether Margaretta D'Arcy uses a zimmer frame. Does the Deputy seriously think it is in the public interest for an elderly person, regardless of the strength of her views on any issue, to have a free licence to go onto a runway - with or without a zimmer frame - when an aeroplane could be landing, thereby placing at risk her life and the lives of others? This is not about age; it is about responsibility. I have a responsibility to ensure the safety of airline travellers and the general public is not jeopardised. Common sense would dictate that the lady in question would sign the bond and the matter would end.