Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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1165. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he has waived all traffic costs on military flights; if so, when this decision was made; and the cost to the Exchequer as a result of this decision. [13043/17]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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The practice of exempting en-route charges for certain specified classes of airspace users, including military aircraft, derives from the exclusion of State aircraft from the scope of the 1944 Chicago Convention establishing the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). While the application of the exemption from charges is at the discretion of the State concerned, the policy and general practice at international level is to exempt such flights from charges.

The current exemption arrangements stem from Ireland's membership of Eurocontrol, a European intergovernmental organisation established in 1960 for the safety of Air Navigation. In common with most of Eurocontrol's 41 Member States, Ireland exempts military flights of Member States  of Eurocontrol, the United States and Canada from payment of en route air navigation charges. This arrangement has applied since Ireland joined the Eurocontrol en route charging scheme in the 1970s.

  The cost incurred by the Irish Aviation Authority in providing exempt en-route services for such flights is reimbursed by my Department/Exchequer. The total amount paid to the Irish Aviation Authority in 2016 in respect of exempt services was €2.6 million.

The exemption applies to charges for communications and navigation but does not cover terminal charges such as landing fees; consequently no reimbursement occurs for landing charges.