Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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161. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the number of civilian aircraft that had not applied for an exemption under the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Order, 1973, have been refused permission to enter Irish sovereign airspace on the grounds that they were suspected of carrying munitions of war in each of the years 2010 to 2023 and to date in 2024; how his Department identified or was informed that these civilian aircraft were suspected of carrying such materials; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42295/24]

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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163. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to set out the written circulars, protocols, or processes used by his Department when exemptions under the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Order 1973, are applied for and when such applications are refused; the persons within his Department responsible for the oversight of these procedures; to detail any reviews of these circulars, protocols, or processes that have been conducted in each of the past ten years; and to specify any subsequent processes governing the oversight of these procedures. [42298/24]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 161 and 163 together.

Under the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Orders 1973 and 1989, the carriage of munitions of war by civil aircraft in Irish sovereign territory and by Irish-registered civil aircraft, wherever they may be operating, is prohibited, unless an exemption from this prohibition is granted by the Minister for Transport.

In accordance with the provisions of the Orders, the Civil Air Ireland unit in my Department operates a procedure under which air operators wishing to carry weapons or munitions through Irish airspace or airports must seek an exemption to do so in respect of each individual flight at least 48 hours in advance.

My officials consult with the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Justice to determine if there are any foreign policy or security issues that need to be considered in the context of each application. The Department of Defence is also informed of all applications.

The Irish Aviation Authority, the state agency with responsibility for regulating the carriage of dangerous goods by air, is consulted on any applications for an exemption to permit the carriage of munitions of war also classified as dangerous goods, such as ammunition.

If an objection is raised regarding the grant of an exemption during these consultations, the recommendation made by officials to the Minister will be to refuse the application.

The system of overflights is a complex one and governed by several multilateral agreements to which the State is a party. The right of overflight is provided to air operators of contracting parties to these agreements, without requiring prior permission, save in the circumstance where the operator is intending to carry munitions of war in Irish sovereign territory.

While operators are required to file flight plans, there is no requirement for these to indicate if munitions of war are being carried, as such unless an air operator has sought an exemption to carry munitions of war, there is no mechanism by which my Department will have knowledge of the type of cargo which is being carried on overflights. To put this into context, in 2023 some 368,000 flights operated through Irish controlled airspace (which includes sovereign airspace) – these were a mix of passenger operation and cargo operations – so it is simply not possible to maintain administrative oversight of all operations in either controlled or sovereign airspace.

In instances where there is an allegation that the carriage of munitions of war has occurred without the appropriate exemption, my officials contact the air operator concerned and seek out and examine all relevant information.

There have been no instances since 2010 where an air operator has been suspected of carrying munitions of war and refused entry into sovereign Irish airspace. There have been instances where air operators have sought exemptions to carry munitions of war, but due to the nature of the cargo on board they have been refused permission to do so and advised to re-route their operation.

An internal audit of the Civil Air Ireland unit processes and procedures was commenced in October 2022, with the final report completed in March 2023. While some administrative improvements were made following this, the overarching structure of the processing system was found to be effective. The scope of this review did not include a review of the legislation on the carriage of munitions of war.

This legislation is now being examined in the context of the consideration to introduce a system of random inspections. The potential for further amendment, to address any deficiencies that may be brought to light by recent events, will also be the subject of this consideration.