Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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863. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the presence of aircraft with tail numbers (details supplied) in Shannon Airport on 18 April 2015; the reason for those aircraft being there on that date; if they had permission to land; and if assurances were sought; were received, that these aircraft were unarmed. [37302/15]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I can confirm that permission was granted by my Department for the landing of these four aircraft at Shannon Airport subject to the strict conditions which apply to all foreign military aircraft. These include stipulations that the aircraft must be unarmed, carry no arms, ammunition or explosives and must not engage in intelligence gathering, and that the flights in question must not form part of a military exercise or operation. In requesting permission from my Department in respect of these aircraft, the United States Embassy indicated that the purpose of the landings was crew rest.