Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 9 October 2024
9. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of permissions under the Air Navigation (Foreign Military Aircraft) Order 1952 sought and granted for military aircraft to overfly or land in the State going to or from the Middle East, either directly or indirectly, by month, since October 2023, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40615/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder 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, 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 policy of diplomatic clearance is well known and is fully understood by the United States and other international partners.
Details of permission sought and granted for military aircraft to overly and land in the state since October 2023 are listed in tabular form below.
I am fully satisfied that the stringent procedures for diplomatic clearance were followed in full on each of these occasions.
In establishing these figures, the following countries of the Middle East were considered to be in scope of the question: Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia. Syria, UAE and Yemen.
To ensure full transparency, information on all military flights is published on the gov.ie website and updated on a monthly basis. The details published on the website include the name of the requesting state.
|
Month |
Overflights sought (with origin/destination in Middle East) |
Overflights granted(with origin/destination in Middle East) |
Landing permissions sought (flights with origin/destination in the Middle East) |
Landing permissions granted (flights with origin/destination in the Middle East) |
|
October 2023 |
3 |
3 |
6 |
6 |
|
November 2023 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
|
December 2023 |
2 |
2 |
7 |
7 |
|
January 2024 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
|
February 2024 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
4 |
|
March 2024 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
|
April 2024 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
4 |
|
May 2024 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
|
June 2024 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
|
July 2024 |
0 |
0 |
11 |
11 |
|
August 2024 |
0 |
0 |
11 |
11 |
|
September 2024 |
7 |
7 |
7 |
7 |
|
Total |
19 |
19 |
64 |
64 |
