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23 Jan 2026
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23 Jan 2026
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Shannon Airport
LIMERICK city LABOUR TD Conor Sheehan has called on government to introduce legislation to allow for the regular inspection of aircraft at Shannon Airport.
Deputy Sheehan directed a parliamentary question to Minister for Transport Darragh O'Brien, asking if there is legislation in progress to allow for routine inspections of US military aircraft in Shannon.
The minister responded that there has been no instance to date where it was necessary to inspect such an aircraft for arms.
Deputy Sheehan issued a statement: “The response to my parliamentary question is troubling. The minister has effectively confirmed that inspections only occur if there is already an appearance of wrongdoing, while simultaneously stating that no such suspicion has ever arisen.”
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"No new legislation is being progressed, despite the ongoing use of Shannon Airport by the US military”, said Mr Sheehan.
“That is not oversight. That is blind trust, and blind trust cannot be the basis for policy.”
Micheál Martin - in his previous role as Minister for Foreign Affairs gave a similar response to a question put by now-President Catherine Connolly, who asked if the government intended to put a stop to Shannon airport being used by the US Military, in the Dáil in October 2024.
Mr Martin answered: “Foreign military aircraft which are given permission to land in Ireland are not subject to inspection in this regard.”
“Sovereign immunity, a long-standing principle of customary international law, means a state may not exercise its jurisdiction in respect to another state or its property, including state and military aircraft. This principle applies automatically to foreign state or military aircraft in the same way it applies to Irish State or military aircraft abroad.”
Department of Foreign Affairs records show there were 7,248 requests from US military aircraft to fly over Irish airspace in the past decade.
-Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme
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