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    Pressure mounts on government over Shannon Airport munitions inspections

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    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

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    No aircraft inspections as highest monthly munitions exemptions reported

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    The Department of Transport’s failure to inspect aircraft at Shannon Airport leaves Ireland relying on the good faith of those transporting munitions through Irish sovereign territory. By Conor O’Carroll The highest number of munitions exemptions since 2016 was granted by the Department of Transport in October, raising questions over whether Ireland has facilitated the supply of munitions to the ongoing conflict in Gaza through its sovereign territory. 182 applications were granted by the Department last month, up from 122 in September. This represents the highest monthly total from the available records, which date back to 2016. The figures come from the routinely published statistics on the number of exemptions granted to civil aircraft under the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Orders 1973 and 1989. Under these orders, “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”, Minister of State Jack Chambers TD said in response to a parliamentary question posed by independent TD, Thomas Pringle, in September. The latest figures show that there was a 42% increase in the number of applications received by the Department in October, though it should be noted that the figures are based on the date the Department issued a decision on each application, not the date the application was received or the date of the flight itself. The vast majority of the exemptions granted (158) permitted flights to fly through Irish sovereign territory, while the remaining 24 exemptions permitted flights to land and take off from Ireland. These flights relate to civilian aircraft that are contracted by militaries, typically the US, to transport munitions to different parts of the globe. Some exceptions also relate to diplomatic flights where security personnel are armed. The Department also does not appear to inspect the planes that land in Ireland, to ensure they are carrying what their applications say Designated military aircraft are the responsibility of the Department of Foreign Affairs and any aircraft wishing to enter Irish airspace requires diplomatic clearance from the Minister for Foreign Affairs. This clearance is subject to strict conditions, according to the government, with a requirement that the aircraft be unarmed, carrying no arms and not be part of intelligence gathering or a military operation. The presence of US military aircraft in Irish airspace has been a hotly debated topic for many years. Peace activists have long demanded that Ireland end its arrangement with the US military, arguing that it violates the constitutional protection of neutrality. Two weeks ago pro-Palestinian supporters staged a protest outside the Department of Transport, demanding that Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan TD, stop providing exemptions to US military aircraft headed for Israel. Many of the munitions carried through Irish airspace on US military aircraft drop off at regional bases, such as in Eastern Europe for Ukrainian supplies, or in bases in the Middle East, meaning tracking where the munitions end up is practically impossible. Village asked the Department of Transport whether it seeks the final destination of any munitions it provides an exemption for. A spokesperson for the Department did not respond specifically, but did say that the exemption “is not an approval to land at any airport outside the State”. The Department also does not appear to inspect the planes that land in Ireland, to ensure they are carrying what their applications say. In the same response to Pringle, Minister Chambers said “insofar as it can be determined, there is no record of an inspection of a civil aircraft having been carried out pursuant to these Orders”. The latest figures show that there was a 42% increase in the number of applications received by the Department in October. A Department spokesperson told Village: “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”. They also provided the same response from Minister Chambers when asked whether an aircraft had ever been inspected. “The complete lack of willingness to inspect the flights is shocking”, Pringle told Village. “As an independent state we can take the view that other states can transit through our airports and airspace but the very least we could do is check that they are complying with our laws and respecting our status as a neutral independent state”, he continued. *** One of the US military aircraft that flew through Irish airspace last month disappeared off-radar over Jordan, Village Magazine can reveal, further complicating the task of tracking the final destination of the aircraft and its cargo. The aircraft, which is owned by Omni Air International, entered Irish airspace in the early hours of 11 October 11 en route to Bulgaria, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. It had taken off from Bangor International Airport, in Maine, the previous evening, but had made stops at Hill Air Force Base in Utah and Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota before crossing the Atlantic. The aircraft also used a call sign reserved for the US Transportation Command (CMB), the US Department of Defence body responsible for providing the US military with air, land, and sea transportation. Flight logs show that the aircraft disappeared abruptly over Jordan, before reappearing several hours later and continuing on its journey, suggesting it turned off its transponder to mask its location. This practice isn’t unusual when travelling over or close to a warzone, but the time difference between the pings on the map above is significant. A spokesperson confirmed that this aircraft received an exemption from the Department of Transport in Ireland. Tracking six other US military aircraft since the outbreak of the conflict in Gaza, Village found a further five ‘disappearances’ over Jordan, though in every other case, the aircraft avoided entering Irish airspace. The flight logs of these seven aircraft also show

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