US overflight figures already close to 2004 levels

Ireland has given permission for 964 overflights by US military aircraft so far this year, according to figures released by the…

Ireland has given permission for 964 overflights by US military aircraft so far this year, according to figures released by the Department of Transport.

With three full months before the end of the year, the figure for 2005 so far is almost as much as the total of 973 for 2004.

They cost the Irish taxpayer an estimated €3.5 million last year - a figure that will rise to €5 million for this year, according to Ruairí Quinn of the Labour Party who obtained the figures from the Department.

Mr Quinn said the figures showed Ireland was complicit in the "illegal" war in Iraq. "Already, we are about to pass the total for 2004, and we are only three-quarters through the year," Mr Quinn said in a statement.

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"It is a disgrace that An Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, is not only ignoring our complicity in this illegal war, but is actually increasing it on a regular basis.

"There have been international reports which state that prisoners have been illegally transported to the Guantanamo Bay base. Many may have passed through Shannon or Baldonnel, making Ireland a party to a breach of International Law."

Patrick  Logue

Patrick Logue

Patrick Logue is Digital Editor of The Irish Times