Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

19. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of times her Department was contacted by the Department of Transport and or the Department of Foreign Affairs in relation to determining if any security issues need to be considered in the context of an application for an exemption under the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Orders 1973 and 1989, since October 2023 to date in 2024, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37938/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy is aware, Irish law prohibits the carriage of munitions of war by civil aircraft in Irish sovereign territory and by Irish registered aircraft, wherever they may be.

Exemptions to this prohibition may be granted by the Minister for Transport under the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Orders 1973 and 1989.

When processing applications for exemptions by the operators of civil aircraft, the Department of Transport consults with my Department on each application for an exemption to determine if there are any security issues that require consideration.

The Department of Transport regularly publishes statistics relating to the carriage of munitions of war on civil aircraft. These are available on the gov.ie website.

As detailed in the published statistics, from October 2023 to June 2024 a total of 1,088 applications for exemptions were received by the Department of Transport. I am informed that statistics for July and August are being compiled by the Department of Transport and will be published shortly.

The Deputy also asked the number of times that my Department was contacted by the Department of Foreign Affairs under the 1973 and 1989 Orders. As I have outlined, it is the Minister for Transport who has responsibility for the granting of exemptions under those Orders.

The Deputy may wish to note that my Department is consulted by the Department of Foreign Affairs under the Air Navigation (Foreign Military Aircraft) Order 1952. Under that Order the permission of the Minister for Foreign Affairs is required for flights by military or state aircraft through Irish airspace, or landing at Irish airports. Again, the system as operated by the Department of Foreign Affairs to process applications for permission includes consultation with my Department to determine if there are any security issues requiring consideration.