Plans for a system to allow for the inspection of flights that may be bringing weapons of war through Ireland are to go before Cabinet next week.
The new system is designed to deter carriers from transporting munitions over Irish airspace or through Irish airports in breach of Irish law. It follows reports of large numbers of commercial flights carrying weapons through Irish airspace to the Israeli military over the last year.
Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan is to brief next Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting on a three-pronged approach devised by civil servants that will allow State agencies to “search, sample and sanction” airlines travelling through or over Ireland, a Government source said.
As it stands, carriers must receive permission from the Government before bringing munitions through Irish airspace.
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The new regime will allow Irish officials to carry out random physical searches of aircraft landing in Ireland to ensure they are not carrying unauthorised weapons. This move will largely affect flights from the US stopping at Shannon Airport for refuelling.
The use of Shannon by US military aircraft has long been controversial, particularly at the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan when the US was frequently accused of illegally transporting weapons through Ireland. The Government has long insisted it has no power to search such flights.
The new system will also allow officials to randomly sample the cargo manifests of aircraft flying over Ireland to ensure they are not carrying munitions.
This will be a paper exercise and may be carried out before or after the flight has taken place, sources said.
Lastly, severe sanctions are to be introduced for airlines found to be in breach of Irish legislation on the transit of weapons. The existing legislation makes it an offence to transport weapons through Ireland without permission but is unclear about how this should be enforced.
Sources said it is hoped the new system will act as a deterrent for airlines who may attempt to travel through Ireland with munitions without the appropriate exemptions.
Mr Ryan first committed to addressing the issue last May after Senator Alice Mary Higgins proposed a bill to restrict the transit of weapons of war to Israel and provide for an inspection system. He asked for a six-month pause to allow officials devise workable legislation.
Officials are of the view that the current legislation, which dates from the 1970s, is out of date given world events and expansion of the air cargo business.
If the proposal is approved by Cabinet, it will allow officials to begin drafting a new piece of air transport legislation codifying the inspection regime.
However, the passage of the legislation will be a matter for the next government and subject to its approval.
Meanwhile, the Department of Transport is continuing to investigate allegations, first reported by the Ditch website, of commercial airliners illegally transporting Israeli weapons over Ireland. The department previously confirmed nine such flights travelled through Irish airspace.
It is continuing to examine a number of other flights. Officials said one or more of these flights may have had legitimate reason to fly over Irish territory, including being ordered to divert over Ireland by air traffic control for safety reasons. Others may have decided to illegally travel over Ireland to save fuel.
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