Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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134. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the military vessels that are accessing Irish waters; their purpose; their point of origin and destination; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36712/15]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, all vessels have a right of innocent passage through the territorial seas of a coastal state and there is no requirement to seek the consent of the coastal state.

However a coastal state may regulate entry to its internal waters and in Ireland the consent of my Department is required in relation to any foreign naval vessels wishing to enter the internal waters of the State. Many bays and inlets, as well as all ports and harbours, are located within our internal waters.

When an application for a foreign naval vessel to enter these waters or to visit an Irish port is received by my Department it is considered in consultation with relevant Government Departments.

The policy of successive Irish Governments has been to grant permission for visits by foreign naval vessels provided that the visits do not form part of a naval exercise and that the vessels are not carrying nuclear weapons.

In the first nine months of this year, my Department received 28 requests for foreign naval vessels to visit Irish waters. These requests originated from the following countries:

Canada

France

Germany

Mexico

Netherlands

Spain

Turkey

UK

USA

The majority of requests for foreign naval vessels to visit Irish waters relate to crew rest.