Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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1. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on his engagements with his Cabinet colleagues regarding the use of Irish airspace or airports for the illegal transport of weapons of war, bound for use by the Israeli military. [40496/24]

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Will the Tánaiste report on his engagements regarding the use of either Irish airspace or airports for the illegal transport of weapons of war, particularly those bound for use by the Israeli military?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy is aware, the Minister for Transport has confirmed that his Department is examining the allegations made in the media regarding civil aircraft flights and the carriage of munitions of war.

I underline that it is expressly prohibited for civil aircraft to carry munitions of war in Irish sovereign airspace without being granted an exemption to do so by the Minister for Transport. The system of exemptions is operated by the Department of Transport under the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Orders 1973 and 1989. These orders implement the 1944 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, which provides that no civil aircraft may carry munitions in or above the territory of a state without that state's permission.

In 2023, and to date in 2024, no applications have been received or exemptions granted for the carriage of munitions of war on civil aircraft to a point in Israel. There have been allegations made in respect of a number of air operators over the past weeks. The Department of Transport is engaging with those air operators and working to establish the nature of the cargo concerned. This work is ongoing and will seek to ensure that any action taken is on the basis of established facts. At the end of August, the Department of Transport arranged for the issue of a notice to airmen, NOTAM. This served to further remind air operators of their obligation to seek an exemption to carry munitions of war.

It is important to draw a distinction between Irish sovereign airspace and Irish-controlled airspace. The provisions of the air navigation orders are only applicable within Irish sovereign airspace. This is not the case with regard to Irish-controlled airspace, which is a larger area of airspace where Ireland's role is limited to providing certain air traffic control services.

I assure the House that in considering any applications for exemptions 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. This process includes the provision of advice from my Department in respect of international humanitarian law, Ireland's international obligations and our wider arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation policy.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I think everybody in the House will accept that applications have not been made and have not been given by Government, but for almost two months we have seen a drip feed of stories, particularly from The Ditch website, including one this week saying that our sovereign airspace is being used to transport weapons ultimately bound for use by the IDF in the ongoing slaughter taking place in Gaza, the West Bank and, more recently, in Lebanon. I take this opportunity to wish well and commend the members of the Irish Defence Forces based in Lebanon.

Has the Tánaiste established and is he satisfied that our sovereign airspace has been used for this purpose? If it has, what will be done by the Government to ensure it does not happen again?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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We are extremely concerned by the situation in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon. We are conscious of the ICJ's advisory opinion in respect of the occupation of the Palestinian territories. Any policy or activity that would in any way be supportive of the occupation would run contrary to the Irish position, and indeed the international legal position now with regard to the ICJ's advisory opinion. On our sovereign airspace, the Department of Transport has not yet provided my Department with a definitive conclusion on the issues regarding the flights that stopped off in Belgium and then came through Irish airspace, as per the reports from an NGO in Belgium, which were then sent to ontheditch.com. I have not a definitive response yet from the Department of Transport or from the Minister. It seems to me that the only objective in violating Irish airspace would be saving fuel. We have to deal with the operators concerned, however, and any operators who violate the Chicago convention and our legislation.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Part of the problem is that since the Minister for Transport declared once and loudly that there were no circumstances where Irish sovereign airspace was being used for this purpose, he has gone silent on the matter. To my knowledge, he has not commented publicly in any definitive way. The journalists writing about this have been forthcoming in providing their documentary evidence. I know because I sought it from them, and they gave it to me. I do not even think the Government asked them for it, but I am told it was supplied to them, nevertheless. I do not get a sense that the Tánaiste considers this to be a serious matter. He stated that the only purpose would be to save fuel. At the end of the day, we are told that these flights contain serious weapons of war that are ultimately being used by the Israel Defense Forces. There are perhaps not an awful lot of unilateral things we can do as a State to register our protest against what Israel is doing, but surely one is to be able to say hand on heart that our airspace is not being used for this purpose.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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First, we take the matter very seriously. On behalf of the Department of Transport we have contacted the Belgian Government with a view to getting that information formally from the authorities in Belgium. I referred to the objective of the airlines because, ultimately, they can go miles outside of our sovereign airspace and they would not be in violation of our laws or the Chicago convention but would still be transporting whatever cargo of weapons or whatever to wherever they want to go, including Israel. I make that point in the context of where we are. There are serious issues here, first in terms of violation of our sovereign airspace, and second our capacity and mechanisms to deal effectively and robustly with any airline that would deliberately violate our laws and the Chicago convention itself.