Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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204. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of German military aircraft that have been allowed to use Shannon Airport for training, or other purposes, since 7 October 2023; if he has any concerns given Germany's provision of weapons to Israel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37599/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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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.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is committed to the highest standards of transparency on this issue, and publishes monthly statistics in relation to overflights and landings of foreign military and state aircraft on the gov.ie website. Details of the number of German military aircraft which have been granted diplomatic clearance to land in Shannon Airport since October 2023 are available as part of these statistics on the gov.ie website.

Successive governments have made landing facilities available at a number of Irish airports to foreign military and state aircraft for a long period. This permission is subject to the strict conditions of the diplomatic clearance procedures described above.