Tánaiste 'turning a blind eye' on weapons moving through Ireland to Israel, Dáil hears
People Before Profit–Solidarity Paul Murphy TD accused multiple named airlines of transporting weapons without permission. File Picture: Sam Boal/Collins Photos
The Government has been accused of "tuning a blind eye" to large volumes of weapons that have been transported through Irish airspace en route to Israel.
People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Paul Murphy has claimed in the Dáil that "tonnes of weaponry" have flown through Irish sovereign airspace since October 2023 to the Israeli military, "namely F-35 combat jet components, munitions from Lockheed Martin and IMI Systems, missile launchers, Smith and Wesson handguns, ammunition primer, detonator, detonating fuses, and tear gas".
Mr Murphy accused multiple named airlines of transporting weapons without permission, a criminal offence which carries a three-year prison sentence for the owner or hirer of the aircraft.
"The Tánaiste is not just turning a blind eye to it; he is gaslighting us about it," Mr Murphy said before crossing the Dáil chamber to hand over folders of waybills from the airlines themselves.
Responding, Simon Harris admitted that while the law expressly prohibits civil aircraft from carrying munitions of war in Irish sovereign territory without being granted an exemption to do so by the minister for transport, it has difficult to police this.
"It is hard to have the level of knowledge that I think we all need to have in terms of what happens in our skies," Mr Harris said.
"I do not just mean in our skies, but more internationally. I did say that we will have to look and consider whether we need to change domestic legislation, and whether we need to work at an international level in terms of the legislation and covenants — many of which I think date back to the 1940s — that govern this as well.
"It is one thing about what people wish to inspect when it is on the ground. When a plane is at 30,000ft or 35,000ft in the air, I would be very interested in hearing from the deputy his practical and implementable solutions in terms of what more we can do.
"I do not say that in any flippant way because, to be very clear, I think we need to do more on this and that we need to see change internationally regarding this," Mr Harris added.
However, Mr Murphy said that airplanes do not need to be inspected as details of what they are carrying are contained in the waybills.
"This is not a mystery. The airlines admit it," Mr Murphy said.
Social Democrats TD Cian O'Callaghan also called for action on weapons being flown through our airspace.
"[Israel's prime minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and his government have been clear in words and deeds," Mr O'Callaghan said.
"Their express goal is the annihilation and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people, and they are not hiding it.
"The genocide they are committing is not a secret. It is happening out in the open as world leaders stand by and do nothing."
At a time when Israel has "placed the entire world on notice that it intends to ethnically cleanse the Gaza Strip", Green Party leader Roderic O'Gorman said strong words "simply are not good enough".
"Ireland can take clear action here at home that will resonate internationally," he said.
