Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Permission for US military aircraft to land at Shannon Airport is subject to the condition that the aircraft are unarmed, carry no arms, ammunition or explosives, do not engage in intelligence gathering, and that the flights in question do not form any part of military exercises or operation. These conditions continue to apply.

Furthermore, under the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Order 1973, the carriage of weapons through Shannon Airport on commercial aircraft is prohibited unless an exemption has been obtained in advance from my colleague, the Minister for Transport. The carriage of the personal weapons of US military personnel on board chartered aircraft in transit through Shannon Airport is subject to the issuance of such an exemption in respect to each individual flight.

I have therefore not sought specific assurances from the US that military advisers travelling to Iraq will not be landing at Shannon Airport.