Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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5. To ask the Minister for Defence his views regarding whether Defence Forces personnel were present during the landing of the United States of America Air Force KC135 mid-air refuelling aircraft, number 80106 from Alabama Air National Guard at Shannon Airport on 14 June 2015; the reason for their presence; the nature of duties undertaken; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25232/15]

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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On 14 June, a US Air Force KC135 mid-air refuelling aircraft from Alabama landed at Shannon Airport. There is no possibility that this aircraft is not involved in military action because its purpose is to refuel military aircraft. Were the Defence Forces personnel called to that, who called them and what was their function on the day?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Similar questions have been asked in the past and this is a similar answer. An Garda Síochána has the primary responsibility for law and order, including the 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, ATCP, which, in practice, means assisting An Garda Síochána when requested to do so.

On many occasions since 2003, the Defence Forces have been deployed to Shannon Airport in an ATCP role in support of An Garda Síochána. The decision to seek support from the Defence Forces is an operational matter for An Garda Síochána. Accordingly, any security assessments and the reasons for decisions to seek support from the Defence Forces are a matter for An Garda Síochána.

With regard to the landing mentioned by the Deputy in her question, I can confirm that in response to a previous ATCP request made by An Garda Síochána, Defence Forces personnel were already present at Shannon Airport when the aircraft in question landed and continued to be deployed after it departed.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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I am not entirely clear about it. It is a similar answer but I am not sure this situation is entirely similar. Since I tabled the question, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed that this aircraft had made an unscheduled landing, allegedly as a result of a technical diversion. Quite a few aircraft are landing without permission.

The Minister said they were already present.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Yes.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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Why were the Defence Forces already present? The Minister also said they stayed until after the plane took off. Were they diverted to the aircraft and what did they do? This is important in terms of compliance with our neutrality because it is not the case, as the Minister said earlier, that neutrality means looking at things on their merits and making a decision. In actual fact, it does not mean that; being neutral means not taking sides, and if we are facilitating US military aircraft on a regular basis, which we are, without proper authorisation, then that is a breach of our neutrality and it is a serious problem.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My understanding is that we were there assisting An Garda Síochána, having been requested to do so before the aircraft landed. We happened to be there when it landed and we were still there when it took off.

In terms of the granting of permission, under the Air Navigation (Foreign Military Aircraft) Order 1952, all foreign military aircraft require the permission of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to overfly or to land in the State. That is where the primary responsibility lies. I do not have the full details as to the reason the aircraft landed but it was presumably diverted for some reason. I suspect we can get the details from the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. From a defence perspective, I do not think there was any threat to this country from facilitating the landing.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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I could explain the threat. I realise the Department of Defence is only one of four Departments that deal with the issue. The Minister made the point earlier that our approach to the Mediterranean is a humanitarian one. We need to step back from that. I put it to the Minister that if it was, we would be taking a hell of a lot more refugees than we have agreed to take. We would not be just leaving them in Italy for the Italians to deal with them. In any case, if we were really concerned we would be standing back and looking at the circumstances that made those people refugees in the first place. One of the key reasons for that is the destabilisation of the region and the interference by the US military, an interference which we have facilitated and continue to facilitate through the use of Shannon Airport. Unless we address those issues then we are complicit in the circumstances that are giving rise to all those people who are desperately drowning in the Mediterranean and all of the other circumstances of destabilisation in that region. Perhaps the Minister might take up the issue at Cabinet level because there is an incredible inconsistency in our alleged neutrality while we allow the continuation of the landing of flights on a twice-daily basis.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Daly and I have a fundamentally different view of the role the United States plays in the world. I do not say mistakes have not been made, but I do not see every conflict and every cause of mass migration in places such as North Africa being caused by the United States. Some conflicts and some broken states are now trying to recover from wars in which the United States and many other countries have been involved, but that is not the same thing as to suggest that they were caused by the United States.

It is also not true to say that we are not thinking about, debating and talking about what the European Union can do in the medium term to try to address the causes of mass migration in places such as North Africa, across multiple states. We have Defence Forces personnel in some of the countries concerned who are trying to assist in providing stability and peace. In Mali, for example, I visited a training mission around St. Patrick's Day. Let us not simplify the situation. This is a hugely complex problem. This country is interested in longer term solutions and investment in trying to bring stability to states where there are currently significant migration problems because of fear of regimes and persecution, among other reasons. Multiple solutions are required. One of them is search and rescue, and we are actively part of that approach but we are also part of the broader debate as well.