Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 32: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on the large number of permissions issued by the Department of Transport for aircraft carrying weapons and munitions to land here; and if he will make a statement on the implications of such a large volume of permissions for the Government's official position on the war in Iraq. [16838/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The carriage of munitions of war and weapons is prohibited under the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Order, 1973, unless an exemption has been obtained from the Minister for Transport. I am advised by my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Mr Noel Dempsey T.D., that applications for exemptions for the carriage of munitions of war, weapons and dangerous goods are considered on a case-by-case basis and factors such as air safety and policy considerations are taken into account in deciding on an application. The majority of exemptions granted in the recent past are in respect of the personal sidearms of the US military personnel travelling through Shannon Airport on chartered civilian aircraft. Overflight and landing arrangements for US forces at Shannon Airport in respect of the Iraq conflict were approved by Dáil Éireann on 20 March 2003 after a lengthy debate.

The US and other troops in the Multinational Force in Iraq are present in that country at the request of the elected Iraqi Government and under the specific mandate of the United Nations Security Council. Since October 2003, the presence of these forces in Iraq has been authorised by a series of UN Security Council Resolutions. Most recently, Security Council Resolution 1790, adopted unanimously in December 2007 on the request of the Iraqi Government, extends the mandate to the end of 2008.