Eamon Ryan pledges legislation to allow random searches of aircraft for weapons

Transport Minister Eamon Ryan: 'No airport in Ireland, or Irish sovereign airspace, is currently being used to transport weapons directly to Israel, despite claims otherwise'. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA

Transport Minister Eamon Ryan is set to introduce legislation to allow for random searches of aircraft coming through Ireland that could potentially be carrying weapons for Israel.

The Green Party leader said that existing legislation expressly prohibits aircraft to carry munitions through Ireland without an exemption. However, it does not allow for random checks.

"No airport in Ireland, or Irish sovereign airspace, is currently being used to transport weapons directly to Israel, despite claims otherwise," said Mr Ryan.

The announcement came in response to an earlier debate in the Seanad which saw a bill that would restrict the transit of weapons through Ireland to Israel shelved for a six-month period. This period will allow for "watertight" legislation to be developed to allow for random aircraft searches, said Mr Ryan.

No airport in Ireland, or Irish sovereign airspace, is currently being used to transport weapons directly to Israel, despite claims otherwise.

— Eamon Ryan (@EamonRyan) May 29, 2024

Independent senator Alice-Mary Higgins said that current legislation allows for checks to be carried out and such inspections have been carried out previously so there is nothing preventing the Government from stepping up the number of checks immediately.

'No inspections'

She said no inspections have been carried out on any aircraft potentially carrying weapons through Ireland since 2020.

She said we should not need to ask the US whether it minds if we stop the odd plane to check it.

Pointing to Ireland's recognition of the state of Palestine, Mr Ryan said that the Government clearly stand up for the right of nations to exist peacefully "but the strength of our position internationally is that we follow international rules and laws".

Mr Ryan said that there have been no applications for exemptions nor have any been granted in 2023 or to date in 2024.

As one of the four senators who introduced the bill, Ms Higgins said that the six-month delay means that the bill would not happen as is would take us to the next election. She noted that Israel's national security adviser said Israel would continue its bombardment of Gaza for at least another seven months.

She said when history looks back on this time, people will not only ask whether Ireland did enough to help the people of Palestine but whether it was done on time.

Speaking earlier, Independent senator Eileen Flynn said that not supporting the bill on Wednesday "means killings tomorrow".

She said that more than 10,000 Palestinian children would die in the six-month period that the bill is set to be delayed, branding the decision a cop-out.

Green Party senator Róisín Garvey cited Ireland's strong position on the issue in comparison to other EU countries but said that no matter what is done with the bill at this time, it will not end the war.