Air Navigation and Transport (Arms Embargo) Bill 2024 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages Seanad Éireann — 2026-04-22 ============================================================ Laura Harmon (LAB), Industrial and Commercial Panel Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I commend the Civil Engagement Group, CEG, on bringing forward this really important Bill. We need to ensure that it passes in full through the Oireachtas and I encourage the Government to support it today. It is extremely disheartening and, to be honest, angering to see the lack of follow-up action by the Government on the issue of illegal wars and the genocide that is happening in Palestine. I was hopeful we would see more action from the Government but, unfortunately, it has been found wanting in so many ways. The occupied territories Bill is an example of that. There were so many platitudes around it - the urgency, the need to take action and the need for sanctions. Where are the sanctions related to goods and services? There has been such a delay in that Bill and I know the Irish people want to see more from our Government on this. I thought that we were going to be leaders in this area initially but we have lagged behind so many other countries that have taken way more action than us. I see it every week in Cork. Every single Saturday in Cork, we march for the people of Palestine, and not just Palestine, but for those who are being affected by illegal military invasions and genocides throughout the world. This Bill is important. Just last week, we had a march on Leinster House led by Lelia Doolan, who is aged 91 and walked from Shannon to Dublin. She walked 220 km at 91 years of age with many people because the Irish public feels so passionately about this and because she feels so passionately that we need to ensure we are not being compromised as a nation, that we are not damaging our neutrality and that Shannon is not being used by other countries and nations that are implementing illegal wars. We need to stop this. Regarding this Bill and the amendments that are in place, the Air Navigation and Transport (Arms Embargo) Bill 2024 seeks "to provide for restrictions on the transit and export of weapons of war from and through the State to the state of Israel". It is very important that we do this. I cannot believe that these inspections are not taking place in the first place. Why are we not doing this? We are all in extremely privileged positions in this Chamber in the Houses of the Oireachtas and we have an opportunity to act here and bring forward laws that could change the outcome for so many. We will be judged, as other Senators have said, in the future. Our children and grandchildren - future generations - will look back. This is a pivotal time not only in Irish history, but in the history of the world as a whole and we will be judged on every single action that we have and have not taken on this. That is why it is important that we stand on the correct side of history and support this Bill. There is no record of any inspection having been carried out since 2020. I was shocked by that and that the Minister had granted a record 1,354 exemptions in 2024 and exemptions for a further 1,280 flights in 2025, with no inspections of any aircraft. This Bill would ensure that the Minister appoints authorised officers to inspect aircraft that have secured exemptions for the carriage of munitions of war through the State. The Minister would be obliged to provide a report to the Houses of the Oireachtas outlining the number of aircraft inspections every three months. I do not think that is onerous. That is a very sensible provision within this Bill. The amendments proposed to the Bill aim to strengthen the Minister's powers to refuse exemptions to any countries subject to investigation by the International Criminal Court, ICJ, for breaches of the UN Charter and to close the gap that allows commercial aircraft to illegally carry weapons without necessary permissions. There are also technical amendments. We know that the ICJ has ordered states to take provisional measures to prevent acts being committed in contravention of Article 2 of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide against the people of Gaza. We have a responsibility here to act on this. In April 2024, the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution calling for an arms embargo on Israel. According to data collected by the military plane tracker, Shannon Warport, as an example, at least 1,300 US military and military-contracted civilian aircraft flew within 60 km, or 37 miles, of Shannon Airport between January 2024 and March 2026, including at least 45 flights that travelled to or from Israel. We have seen the reports that Belgium's Challenge Airlines made 21 flights carrying weapons to Israel through Irish airspace from October 2023 to January 2025. These were illegal flights, I would argue, but it is clear that the Government has effectively turned a blind eye. On the one side, we are issuing statements of platitude and condemning the genocide and what is happening, and on the other side, we are turning a blind eye and not doing anything. We have an opportunity now to actually do something very important and meaningful and that the Irish people want. In October, the Government granted an exemption for an Omni Air International flight chartered by the US military to carry arms to the Israeli military. That was the first time since 2006 that our Government had openly acknowledged authorising a flight that was carrying weapons through Shannon to Israel. In the midst of what we have all watched over the past three years, that is absolutely shocking. It flies in the face of the steadfast solidarity and support that the Irish people have shown during this period to the Palestinians. We have a chance before us today to make absolutely clear that this cannot and will not be accepted. I urge Senators on both sides of the House to support this Bill because we are lagging behind other European countries in tackling the arms supply. Slovenia, Spain and France have all brought forward restrictions or embargoes, so we need to play our part. That is why we are supporting this Bill. I urge everybody to support the CEG and the Bill it is bringing forward. --- 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