Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

60. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the recent US led airstrikes on Mosul which killed 30 civilians; if he will cease US military aircraft and hardware coming through Shannon; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3092/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I regret the deaths of all civilians in every military conflict. I am conscious of multiple reports, including from civilians in Mosul, claiming that Daesh is deliberately using civilians as human shields. I would also note that the liberation of Mosul, from a terrorist group which a UN body has found responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, has been legally mandated by the UN Security Council under resolution 2249, which calls on UN Member States to “prevent and suppress terrorist acts committed specifically by ISIL” and “to eradicate the safe haven they have established over significant parts of Iraq and Syria”. Security operations taking place against Daesh inside Iraq are also conducted under the legal authority of the sovereign Government of Iraq.

The Air Navigation (Foreign Military Aircraft) Order 1952, gives the Minister for Foreign Affairs primary responsibility for the regulation of activity by foreign military aircraft in Ireland. The practical implementation of this provision is guided by and reflects Ireland’s traditional policy of military neutrality.