Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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11. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to outline the responsibilities of his Department in terms of ensuring that aircraft which land on Irish soil are not carrying arms, weapons, or military equipment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28230/24]

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 of Foreign Affairs.

Diplomatic clearance is subject to strict conditions which include stipulations that the aircraft must be unarmed, carry no arms, ammunition or explosives and must not engage in intelligence gathering, and that the flights in question must not form part of military exercises or operations. This policy is well known and is fully understood by the United States and other international partners, and is conducted 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. Statistics on such exemptions are published on the Department of Transport’s website.

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. 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.