Mayo TD gets ministerial response to two key questions on Gaza crisis
Mayo TD Paul Lawless had received a detailed response from Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Simon Harris on the steps he has taken to address weapons being carried through Irish airspace to Israel and what he termed 'the complicity of Ireland in a genocidal war'.
In his reply, the minister outlined: "Responsibility for the regulation of foreign aircraft landing or overflying the State is shared between Departments.
"The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade has primary responsibility for the regulation of foreign military and state aircraft, while the Minister for Transport leads on regulation of civil aircraft.
"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 and Trade.
"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.
"Since October 2023, diplomatic clearance has been granted on a small number of occasions for US military aircraft to land in Shannon for the specific purpose of transporting senior officials travelling from the United States to the Middle East.
"Stringent procedures for diplomatic clearance were followed in full on each of these occasions.
"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.
"Since October 2023, no applications have been received or exemptions granted to permit the carriage of munitions of war in Irish sovereign territory for a flight by a civil aircraft destined for a point in Israel.
"The Department of Transport has been undertaking a detailed examination of the allegations made concerning alleged contraventions of Irish legislation relating to the carriage of munitions of war in Irish sovereign territory.
"The Genocide Convention prohibits genocide and obliges its contracting parties to prevent it.
"In this context, Ireland has been unequivocal in calling for the full implementation of the binding preliminary measures issued by the International Court of Justice in South Africa’s case against Israel under that Convention and has promoted that message tirelessly with EU and international partners."
Deputy Lawless also asked the minister about the representations he has made within the EU to bring about an end to the blockade of essential aid to Gaza.
Minister Harris explained: "The government has consistently condemned the blockade of essential aid to Gaza and called for the immediate resumption of unimpeded humanitarian aid into and throughout Gaza.
"The humanitarian situation in the Strip is catastrophic with almost no aid allowed in by Israel since March 2. The limited amount of aid allowed in in recent days is clearly insufficient.
"Following the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council on May 20, the EU High Representative announced that the EU will conduct a review of Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
"This is an important decision, reflecting the grave concerns held by Member States regarding the ongoing military operations by Israel and the blockade of humanitarian aid entering Gaza.
"This is a position that I reiterated very clearly, alongside my counterparts from Spain, Slovenia and Luxembourg, in a joint letter to the High Representative in advance of the Foreign Affairs Council.
"Ireland and Spain first called for this step to be taken in February 2024.
"We underlined the need for the review to be undertaken urgently and that, based on this work, the High Representative should, working with the Commission as a whole, bring forward concrete proposals for appropriate measures.
"As both the Taoiseach and I made clear in the Dáil, it is also our view that the operation of the Association Agreement should be suspended pending the outcome of a review of Israel’s compliance.
"On May 19, Ireland signed up to a joint statement with 23 other donor countries and the EU urging Israel to allow a greater resumption of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and enable the UN and humanitarian organisations to work independently and impartially.
"In my intervention at the EU-Israel Association Council in February, I also underlined the EU’s call for full and unimpeded access for humanitarian aid.
"Only an immediate end to hostilities and a full, unimpeded resumption of humanitarian aid delivery can prevent a further descent into that grim reality for Gazans."