Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 1075: To ask the Minister for Transport if airports here are being used to transport military equipment from, to, or on behalf of Israel; if requests for licences for such through-carriage have been requested; if so, the number of same; the number of these licences which have been granted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28289/06]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Civilian air carriers carrying weapons or munitions, wishing to land or over-fly Irish airspace are obliged to seek exemption from the provisions of Sections 6 & 7 of the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Order 1973. This Order applies only to the carriage of munitions of war, weapons and dangerous goods and not to military personnel. All of the application details are sent to the following Departments for observations, before the Minister decides whether to issue an exemption:

the Department of Foreign Affairs (in relation to foreign policy),

the Department of Justice (in relation to security) and

the Irish Aviation Authority (in relation to aviation safety),

and also informs the Department of Defence.

Since 1 January 2003, there have been two requests granted to civil air carriers to transit through Irish airports carrying military equipment to Israel, one in June 2005 and one in May 2006. Both of these requests related to the personal weapons of US troops transiting Ireland. The only request granted for the transit of military equipment from Israel during this time was in May 2006, when the same troops returned to the US following the completion of exercises in Israel.

All of these requests preceded the recent conflict in Lebanon. The Minister for Foreign Affairs made clear during the recent crisis that permission would not be granted for any application for the transit of munitions of war to Israel.