Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Under the terms of the Air Navigation (Foreign Military Aircraft) Order, 1952, all foreign military aircraft wishing to overfly, or land in, the State require diplomatic clearance from the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Diplomatic clearance is subject to strict conditions, including that the aircraft is unarmed; that it carries no arms, ammunition or explosives; that it does not engage in intelligence gathering; and that the flight in question does not form part of a military exercise or operation.

This policy is well known and is fully understood by our international partners, and is implemented in compliance with Ireland’s traditional policy of military neutrality.

Furthermore, under the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Orders 1973 and 1989, it is expressly prohibited for civil aircraft to carry munitions of war in Irish sovereign territory, without being granted an exemption to do so by the Minister for Transport.

In considering any application for such an exemption in respect of munitions of war, the Department of Transport consults with the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Justice on applications to determine if there are foreign policy or security considerations to take into account.

When providing observations on applications, the Department of Foreign Affairs reviews records held by the Department of Transport. The process is robust and includes advice from the Department of Foreign Affairs in respect of international humanitarian law, Ireland’s international obligations and our wider arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation policy.

With regards to Irish ports, visits from foreign naval vessels are a long-standing and common practice in Ireland and worldwide. It is therefore normal and welcome for foreign naval vessels to visit Irish ports, whether that be to carry out joint training with the Irish Naval Service or simply to take crew rest. Port visits like those are also indicative of our desire for friendly relations with our neighbours and our desire for the Irish Naval Service to be equipped to communicate with other navies where necessary. The Irish Naval Service regularly visits foreign ports in the same manner.

Foreign naval vessels are only granted permission to visit Irish ports on condition that they meet the necessary policy stipulations. In particular, these require that naval vessels visiting Irish ports do not carry nuclear weapons and do not engage in military exercises. These are the standard stipulations for any naval vessel to visit an Irish port.

It is the long-standing policy of the Department of Foreign Affairs not to disclose details relating to the specifics of diplomatic clearance requests, as such information is provided by Embassies in the expectation of the maintenance of confidentiality. However, the Department of Foreign Affairs does publish statistics in relation to overflights and landings of foreign military and state aircraft on the Department’s website.