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Pressure mounts on government over Shannon Airport munitions inspections

By Conor O’Carroll

Over sixty TDs and Senators have signed an open letter addressed to Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan TD, calling on him to review the government’s policy on munitions inspections at airports.

The letter, which was published by the Seanad Civil Engagement Group (CEG) and signed by 67 TDs and Senators from Sinn Féin, Labour, the Social Democrats, and People Before Profit (PBP), as well as independents, requests the Minister to “ensure Ireland is not complicit in arming Israel”.

It cites a report from Village Magazine last week in which a spike in munitions exemptions for flights travelling through Irish airspace coincided with the conflict in Gaza, raising questions over Ireland’s role in the supply of weapons to the region.

Data from the Department of Transport shows that 98% of applications since 2016 were granted exemptions. Of the 8,264 exemption applications received by the Department, just 109 have been refused

Over 180 exemption applications were granted by the Department of Transport to carry munitions through the State in October, the highest monthly total from available records dating back to 2016.

The vast majority of the granted exemptions permitted flights to fly through Irish sovereign airspace, while a smaller number permitted flights to land and take off from Irish airports.

Tracking seven civil aircraft used by the US military, Village found there have been at least 26 layovers in Shannon Airport since the outbreak of the conflict in Gaza, and one in Dublin. There were also a further 35 entries into Irish airspace by these aircraft.

Many of these aircraft used call signs associated with the US Transportation Command and arrived having visited US military bases before crossing the Atlantic. These flights went on to connect to US military bases in Europe & the Middle East.

Under the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Orders 1973 and 1989, Minister Ryan has the discretion to deny any exemption application made under these Orders, and it is prohibited to carry munitions through Irish airspace without being granted an exemption.

However, data from the Department of Transport shows that 98% of applications since 2016 were granted exemptions. Of the 8,264 exemption applications received by the Department, just 109 have been refused.

The letter calls on Minister Ryan to “commit publicly to using Ministerial discretion to deny exemptions to all flights carrying munitions destined for Israel, or where the end user is Israel”.

It also calls on the Minister to implement a system of inspections for flights that land at Shannon Airport.

Village reported last week that no inspections have taken place on any aircraft transiting through Irish sovereign territory, with a Department spokesperson saying: “While the orders do provide for the inspection of a civil aircraft to ensure compliance, it is only whenever it appears that a flight would be in contravention of them. There is no provision for such an inspection without this prerequisite”.

Speaking on RTÉ’s The Week in Politics over the weekend, the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar TD, said that Shannon Airport was not being used to supply weapons to Israel.

However, the Department of Transport did not respond to a question posed by Village last week asking whether it seeks a final destination of any munitions it provides an exemption for. The Department instead stated that the exemption “is not an approval to land at any airport outside the State”.

The Seanad CEG letter also cites recent evidence uncovered by Israeli newspaper Haaretz suggesting that the US may be supplying weapons through proxy countries, such as Cyprus and Jordan.

In a statement to Village, independent Senator Frances Black, a member of the Seanad CEG, said: “We are concerned by figures which show an unusually large number of exemptions granted to munitions flights by the Minister in October, with no inspections being carried out and a lack of clarity around information on end users.  In this context, we have serious concerns around the government’s assurances that weapons bound for Israel are not transiting through Ireland. We urgently need a rigorous, transparent inspection system if we are to uphold our human rights obligations”.

The letter calls on Minister Ryan to “commit publicly to using Ministerial discretion to deny exemptions to all flights carrying munitions destined for Israel, or where the end user is Israel”

Village contacted Minister Ryan for comment in response to the letter but has not received a response.

Separately, as part of a wide-ranging motion before the Dáil today submitted by PBP TDs, the government was called to “close Shannon Airport to the US military immediately, by banning US military and US military contracted aircraft, including troop carriers, from landing at the airport”.

The motion claims that “Shannon Airport is effectively a forward operating base for the US military, used to support their operations in the Middle East, with approximately three million US troops and their weapons, and US Air Force/Navy cargo planes passing through Shannon Airport since 2002, and over 51,000 US military personnel have passed through Shannon Airport in 2023 to mid-November”, stating this has undermined Ireland’s constitutional neutrality.

Speaking at a Dáil debate on the motion, Paul Murphy TD said: “Is Shannon Airport being used to transport weapons from the US to Israel? The truth is, I do not know. The truth is that the Tánaiste and the government do not know either because they refuse to do inspections”.

An amendment to the motion submitted by the Tánaiste, Micheál Martin TD, asserts that “there are no planes with weapons en route to Israel stopping at Shannon Airport or any other Irish airport”.

Responding to the PBP motion in the Dáil, the Tánaiste said: “The Government is clear that no airport in Ireland, whether Shannon or any other airport, is being used to transfer weapons to the Middle East or to any other war. This policy is well known and fully understood by our partners. No applications have been received or exemptions granted in relation to civil aircraft travelling to Israel since the start of the current conflict”.

It is expected the government’s amendment to the motion will be carried when the Dáil votes later tonight.

The Dáil will also vote on an amendment proposed by Sinn Féin TD, Matt Carthy. It seeks to insert the words “by Israel” after “also condemns the killing of children and civilians” in the government’s amendment.

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