Fears weapons flown through Irish skies being used in Gaza

Almost 1,200 flights carrying weapons were flown over Irish air space last year, prompting concerns that some of these weapons are being used by Israel in Gaza.

181 of those flights were approved in October, the same month Israel began its an all-out offensive on Gaza.

According to the Irish Examiner, there was 1,185 applications for permission to fly weapons through Irish airspace or land at Irish airports granted by Transport Minister Eamon Ryan last year.

Of these, 910 flights were given permission to fly across Irish airspace.

Only eight applications were refused by the minister, while 38 applications were cancelled by flight operators.

Under existing laws, it is illegal to fly weapons through Irish airspace unless a waiver is granted by the transport minister.

Sinn Féin’s foreign affairs spokesman Matt Carthy said there is a disturbing lack of transparency around these flights.

He said there is no accountability to the Dáil on the issue, and that almost all applications submitted are granted by Mr Ryan.

People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy said the figures “certainly suggest that Shannon Airport is being used to transport soldiers carrying weapons to the Middle East”.

In 2022, the Government permitted 1,094 civil flights with weapons onboard to fly through Irish airspace, while 989 such flights were allowed in 2021. In 2020, 1,165 permissions were granted.

The total figure also includes flights that landed and took off from Irish airports, with the vast majority coming into Shannon Airport.