Air Navigation and Transport (Arms Embargo) Bill 2024 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages
Seanad Éireann — 2026-04-22
============================================================

Nessa Cosgrove (LAB), Labour Panel

I fully and wholeheartedly support and commend the Civil Engagement Group and Senator Higgins on continuing to push this. I was elected to this House just over a year ago. This was one of the first important pieces of legislation we spoke about when this Seanad was convened. I cannot understand how nothing has been done about it. The behaviour of the US Government since this Bill was last debated has proven that we need more than ever to reclaim our neutrality and disassociate ourselves completely from the US military.
War crimes have been committed by the US in Iran and by Israel in Gaza. If it is possible that weapons are being used that were delivered through Shannon Airport or via Irish airspace, we have to completely extricate ourselves from having anything to do with this. The recent revelations that almost 250 more flights than were declared had flown over Irish airspace last year was due to an administrative oversight is very hard to believe and comprehend. That is no consolation to all those killed or maimed by munitions delivered by the flights or because of intelligence gathered through the flights. It is an indication of just how many US military flights take place in Irish airspace. The figure surged by a further 56% following the unprovoked US attacks on Iran. As Senator Higgins said, Spain, which is a member of NATO, and Switzerland, have closed their airspace to US military aircraft. We should not be afraid to follow their example and to declare ourselves to be out of this neo-imperialistic war. Section 2, at the heart of this Bill, deals with the granting of ministerial exemptions for weapons, munitions or dual-use goods to pass through Irish territory or airspace. In simple terms, this Bill just puts an arms embargo in place and it bans the passage of arms through Ireland to Israel. I do not think that is an unreasonable demand.
It has been 19 months since the UN General Assembly passed its resolution calling on Israel to end its illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories. This is a resolution that Ireland voted for. We have, therefore, already accepted the argument here, so why are we still facilitating the passage of arms through Shannon Airport? It beggars belief that the Government has pushed this down the road. As Senator Higgins said, the Civil Engagement Group worked really well with the Government to come up with a solution to this issue. That was done. Now, though, it is just being left again.
This is not what the Irish people want. This is an issue of deep concern to the Irish people and there is something we can do about it as legislators. It is our job to do it. We do not want to be complicit in this war and we are. We know it is not just in Israel. Countless lives have been lost in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. Why would we not bring in this legislation? Why are we allowing this to continue to happen? It is like the occupied territories Bill. It is being pushed down the road and the Government is dragging its feet. Given how volatile the world is now, especially, why is the Government not disassociating us from this? We can do it. Other countries have had the bravery to do it and it is about time we did it as well. We have all watched the horror that has been going on for the past three years. This is a very simple solution that we should be very happy to embrace.

---

Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-04-22/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:50+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-22