War planes’ flyover costs us €10m

FOREIGN military aircraft passing through Irish airspace have cost taxpayers €10 million over the past five years, the Labour Party revealed yesterday.

This is because the Government exempts foreign military aircraft from fees that apply to commercial aircraft and the State reimburses the Irish Aviation Authority for the charges that are lost because of this exemption.

The Irish Examiner first revealed this controversial practice last year when it emerged that the taxpayer had footed the €6 million bill for US military flights landing in Shannon on the way to the Iraq in the previous two years.

Figures from Labour show the bill for the past five years was almost €10m. Labour transport spokeswoman Róisín Shortall said the figure highlights the need for a major review of this arrangement.

“I believe the public will be shocked and surprised to find that the Irish taxpayer is actually paying for the ‘privilege’ of allowing these aircraft to fly though Irish airspace,” she added.

She received the information in reply to a parliamentary question tabled to Transport Minister Martin Cullen. It is almost certain that the overwhelming majority of these aircraft were US military flights, said Ms Shortall.

The minister said the decision to exempt military aircraft from charges is based on a Eurocontrol (European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation) Multilateral Agreement to which Ireland is a party.

Mr Cullen’s spokesman could not be reached for a response at the time of going to press.