Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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282. To ask the Minister for Finance if his attention been drawn to an article in the media (details supplied) reporting that planes had been purchased by the Russian state airline Aeroflot; if those planes were availing of section 110 status; if so, his views on whether this constitutes a violation of European Union sanctions, given his review of the section 110 regime; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4660/23]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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EU sanctions have direct effect in all Member States of the EU, and are legally binding on all natural and legal persons. A natural or legal person who contravenes a provision of an EU sanctions regulation would be guilty of an offence and liable to prosecution.  

Ireland is fully supportive of all sanctions agreed at European Union level. All sanctions against Russia and Belarus in relation to the illegal invasion of Ukraine have been fully implemented. This includes all nine packages of sanctions agreed by the European Union to date. It is important to note that there is nothing specific in the Section 110 regime that is of particular relevance to Russian investors or originators, and such vehicles are in scope of the sanctions regime.

The sanctions against Russia and Belarus are extensive, affecting many sectors of the Russian and Belarusian economies and includes specific measures targeting the Russian aerospace industry. In relation to the purchase of aircraft by the company in question, Article 3c of Council Regulation (EU) 833/2014 prohibits the sale or transfer of goods listed in Annex XI of said Regulation, namely aircraft or spacecraft.  However, certain derogations can be sought by an aircraft company if they are purchasing aircraft that the company had been leasing and the lease agreement concluded before 26 February 2022 as outlined in section 6 of Article 3c. Any such derogation must be authorised by a national competent authority in the jurisdiction where the lessor is based. The competent authority concerned with the sale of aircraft is the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

I am informed by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment that the Department had no prior knowledge of the sale of the aircraft in question prior to the reports in the media. Also, the Department did not provide an authorisation for the purchase and is now working to verify the veracity of the reports. It is now working with other Government Departments in order to establish the full facts of the situation.