Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister. I apologise that he could not be here today to take this Commencement matter. The carriage of munitions of war is prohibited on any civil aircraft in Irish sovereign territory or on an Irish-registered civil aircraft, wherever it may be operating, unless an exemption is granted by the Minister for Transport. This is implemented in Irish law through the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Orders 1973 and 1989. These orders define munitions of war as “weapons and ammunition designed for use in warfare and includes parts of or for such weapons and ammunition”. Dual-use goods, which the Senator has mentioned, are not referenced within these orders. The orders further provide that weapons which are not considered to be munitions of war may be carried as part of the baggage of a passenger if kept in an inaccessible area of the aircraft and, if a firearm, is unloaded. This facility allows for hunting and sporting weapons to be carried on flights, which can be a common occurrence depending on the area of the world in which the flight is taking place.

Each year, approximately 1,000 exemptions are granted by the Department of Transport. These predominantly fall into two categories. The first relates to armed law enforcement or military personnel on Irish-registered aircraft operating scheduled flights in the European Union. The second relates to US military personnel carried by a US civil air operator either overflying or landing briefly in Ireland where the unloaded personal issue weapons of those personnel are on board. It is important to highlight that, in this second case, should no personal issued weapons be carried, no exemption would be required.

A long-established process of consideration and consultation is utilised when applications for exemptions are received from civil air operators. This includes consulting with the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Justice on foreign policy and security considerations. The Irish Aviation Authority, the State agency with responsibility for regulating the carriage of dangerous goods by air, is consulted on any applications for an exemption to permit the carriage of munitions of war also classified as dangerous goods, such as ammunition. In all cases, the Department of Defence is informed of applications received.

I can confirm that no inspections under the 1973 order have taken place since May 2024. The inspection provisions within the orders are limited to circumstances where there is an appearance that an aircraft is intended or likely to be flown from any place within the State in such circumstances that the flight would be in contravention of the order. However, these provisions are not deemed to be sufficient to provide for random inspections nor do they relate in any way to aircraft that are overflying and do not land on sovereign territory.

In answer to the second part of the Senator’s query, I am informed that, from May 2024 to the end of October 2024, the last full month, 686 applications for an exemption were received by the Department of Transport and 665 of these were granted. Of these 665 exemptions, 247 were granted to Irish-registered aircraft operating outside of the State, 135 were granted to civil aircraft landing in or taking off from the State and 283 were granted to civil aircraft overflying the State.

It must be noted that exemptions are granted to civil air operators and not to nation states. Furthermore, the exemption granted is for the carriage of munitions of war through Irish sovereign territory or on board an Irish-registered aircraft. It is not an approval to land at any airport outside the State. This is a matter for the state to which it is being flown and its own domestic procedures.