Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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8. To ask the Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Question No. 139 of 26 May 2015, if he will provide a breakdown of the costs involved for the Irish Defence Forces in providing aid to the civil power at Shannon Airport from January 2015 up to 18 June 2015; the role of the Defence Forces in such operations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25100/15]

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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My question relates to the cost of using the Defence Forces at Shannon Airport, what that money achieves and whether the Minister will consider making better use of that money. Does he not think it is a bit ironic that we are saving lives in the Mediterranean while facilitating the destruction of lives by using our Defence Forces to allow Shannon to be used as a US military airbase?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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We have spent €83,000 this year on support for the Garda Síochána at Shannon Airport, which is slightly less than we spent last year. By this time last year, we had spent just over €84,000. Since 2012 the figure has been coming down quite a bit. It was €275,000 in 2012; €221,000 in 2013 and €180,000 last year. That is the full cost of providing aid to the civil power, that is, what we provide to An Garda Síochána, when requested to do so. That has been going on since 2003.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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We were told recently by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade that the US was being granted blanket permission for overflights of unarmed military aircraft. Military aircraft are landing in Shannon Airport and the Defence Forces are more or less protecting them from anyone who might want to reveal the truth that they are in breach of international law by carrying munitions through a supposedly neutral country. What would the Minister think of using the Defence Forces to check the planes to make sure that they are not carrying arms? The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed that there were 48 such overflights, aside from the ones that landed in Shannon. We do not even get the details of these. There is an ad hoc arrangement with the US which confirms that the aircraft are not carrying munitions, after the event. Most neutral countries, such as Austria and Switzerland, insist on the information's being given in advance.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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If the Deputy has a question for the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, he should ask him. I am sure he will have no problem answering those questions. I certainly do not need to answer for him.

Our role in the Department of Defence and that of the Defence Forces is to give assistance to An Garda Síochána when it asks for it. That is what we do. We try to do that as efficiently and cost-effectively as we can. I have given the Deputy the figures for the past few years. The relationship we have with the US involves an element of trust. If we are told there are no weapons on planes, our position is that we accept that. If there are planes carrying munitions, there is a requirement to get permission to land in Shannon, which I think comes from the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. That relationship has been in place for some time and if the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade wants to change it, that is a decision for him but I think the Government is reasonably happy with the position as it pertains.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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I am sure the Minister respects the courts of this land. At the court hearing in Shannon when we were charged with illegal entry, three individuals testified to the fact that they saw arms on military planes, in the cabin and underneath. This testimony was given under oath and the judge accepted it. Does this not concern the Government? The Minister is a member of the Cabinet and there is more to his role than responsibility for the Defence Forces. There has been testimony in a court of this land that there are arms on these planes. Is the Government not going to take any action? We realise the US military use of Shannon and our aiding it to militarise so much of the world has led to the displacement of millions of people. We are fishing for refugees in the Mediterranean but we are helping to kill them by allowing the yanks use Shannon.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I do not accept that we are helping to kill anybody. I do not accept either that the US is looking to kill any refugees.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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What does the Minister think the US troops do in Afghanistan? Eat cakes?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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US troops have, by and large, left Afghanistan. The mission there is to build capacity amongst Afghan authorities.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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There are 10,000 there still.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Yes, because they cannot leave overnight.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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They certainly cannot.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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They have been leaving for over a decade.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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They did in Vietnam.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The very same people who criticise the US for intervening, criticise it when it does not intervene.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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No.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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That is the reality when there are conflicts.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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We would prefer if they stayed at home.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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We are talking about the role of the Department of Defence in Shannon. Unfortunately, in assisting An Garda Síochána in Shannon the role of the Department of Defence is to ensure that people do not illegally enter Shannon Airport seeking to damage planes, as happened in the past.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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Is that what they are there for?

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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They are breaking international law.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Unfortunately, because of the actions of some people, we have to spend money deploying Defence Forces to protect aircraft landing in Shannon.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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Is that so they can go on and kill people in the Middle East?