Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Anti-Austerity Alliance)
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28. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to report on any contact he has had with the United States of America's Government in regard to its military foreign policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19479/16]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Anti-Austerity Alliance)
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Has the Minister had any contact or discussions with the US Government regarding military foreign policy? I am interested in two areas. One is the continued use of Shannon Airport by the US military. Since 2000, some 2.5 million US soldiers have passed through the airport. The second is the reports of the number of casualties as a result of drone strikes authorised by President Obama. In effect, there is a drone assassination programme.

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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The Irish Government maintains contact with the United States on a broad range of issues, both bilaterally and through European Union structures. Bilaterally, there are regular contacts between political leaders from our two countries, such as through those that took place during the recent visit by Vice President Biden to Ireland and the annual St. Patrick's Day celebrations in Washington DC. These discussions typically cover a wide range of topics of particular interest to Ireland, such as immigration reform, as well as relevant foreign policy issues, development aid, economic and investment ties and support for human rights. My visit to the US in September for the UN General Assembly usually provides me with an opportunity for bilateral exchanges with senior US foreign policy officials.

In addition, our embassy in Washington regularly engages with members of the US Houses of Congress and officials in various US Government Departments on a wide range of issues, as do our consulates in the US at a regional level. Ireland is also party to contacts with the US by the European Union through the transatlantic dialogue, which includes a range of policy areas such as development co-operation, non-proliferation, energy security and the environment, as well as foreign policy.

With regard to military policy, Ireland maintains a long-standing policy of military neutrality which is characterised by non-participation in military alliances. This policy has been pursued by successive Governments and was reaffirmed in my Department's foreign policy strategy, The Global Island.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Anti-Austerity Alliance)
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The policy of military neutrality pursued by the Government is one that exists in words only - witness the discussion at the European Council about increased co-operation with NATO or, most importantly, the very regular use of Shannon Airport to transport US military soldiers to the Middle East to pursue US war aims. I do not see how that is compatible with a supposedly neutral foreign policy. Does the Government have any intention of changing the use of Shannon Airport?

In particular, I wish to raise a question about a particular aircraft in Shannon Airport on 1 July. Two issues arise here. One is the use of Shannon to transport troops but the other was previously in terms of rendition. An aircraft was at Shannon Airport that was previously identified as one of the CIA planes used in the extraordinary rendition programme by the European Union TDIP committee that investigated it, that is, Learjet 35, No. N71PG. Would the Minister be aware of anything in regard to that? Would he be willing to investigate that?

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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Ireland's longstanding policy of military neutrality which has been pursued by successive Governments is characterised by the non-participation of Ireland in military alliance. This commitment was reconfirmed last year in the context of my Department's foreign policy review and in the White Paper on Defence which was also published last year. Successive Governments have made overfly and landing facilities at Shannon available to the US for well over 50 years. This facility is also made available for military aircraft from other countries. From 2013 to 2015, permission was granted in respect of requests from 23 countries. The same conditions apply to all landings by military aircraft. These arrangements do not amount to any form of military alliance with the US and are consistent with our policy of military neutrality.

In relation to the specific instance raised by the Deputy on 1 July, I do not have information on that particular aircraft but I will endeavour at the earliest opportunity to appropriate this information and to contact the Deputy's office on it.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Anti-Austerity Alliance)
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I thank the Minister. For the information of the Minister, it is Learjet 35, No. N71PG, which is reportedly a CIA aircraft. Obviously, if CIA planes were to land at Shannon Airport and potentially were to have prisoners inside, it would be a very serious matter that the Government would want to investigate. I do not think neutrality is compatible with a policy of allowing soldiers to land and allowing aircraft to be used that then go on to kill innocent Iraqis, Afghans and so on. I do not think that is neutrality.

What is the approach of the Government to the question of drone strikes? The first official release of figures claims close to 3,000 people were killed as a result of drone strikes between 2009 and 2015. There is the horrific situation where Obama signs a kill list; effectively, it is a judicial action but it is non-judicial assassination. There is no oversight whatsoever. They decide to kill people outside of combat. Does the Irish Government have a view on it?

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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Prior permission is required for all foreign military aircraft to land at Irish airports and permission, if granted, is subject to very strict conditions which I have outlined. Bilateral relations between friendly nations are founded on mutual trust. Both parties have an interest in maintaining that trust. Details provided by diplomatic missions, including confirmation that the aircraft are unarmed, carry no arms, no ammunition and no explosives, are therefore accepted in good faith as being accurate. In accordance with international practice, foreign military aircraft which are granted permission to land in Ireland are not subject to inspection. I will provide the Deputy with details in respect of the aircraft as evidenced by him earlier.