As US military aircraft entertain the crowd at the Salthill air show this weekend, many may wonder why we are spending €10,000 a day to help them fight the war in Iraq, writes Tom Clonan
As Salthill prepares to host its annual air show tomorrow, a number of protest marches are scheduled to demonstrate against the presence of US and British military aircraft in the line-up.
This year's display will include a US military UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter and an RAF Tornado fighter, aircraft types deployed by coalition forces in Iraq.
However, those concerned about foreign military aircraft in Irish airspace would do well to divert their gaze from Salthill this weekend and consider more dramatic military developments at higher altitude in Ireland's skies.
The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), under Government direction, is providing vital navigation support - free of charge - to US military aircraft passing through our airspace on their way to Iraq.
By picking up the cost of these navigation charges, the Irish taxpayer, perhaps unwittingly, is making a considerable cash contribution towards the US war in Iraq.
Figures released to the Labour Party last month reveal that the Department of Transport has paid the IAA almost €10 million over the past five years in respect of foreign military aircraft passing through Irish airspace.
Such payments are made by the taxpayer to reimburse the IAA for a Government decision to exempt all foreign military aircraft from "en-route" air traffic control charges through Irish airspace.
This decision is based on Ireland's participation in a Eurocontrol (the European organisation for the safety of air navigation) multilateral agreement.
The Eurocontrol agreement is a reciprocal arrangement whereby its parties exempt military aircraft from charges for communications and navigation services facilitating their passage through "friendly" airspace.
Ireland does not enjoy much by way of reciprocity through this agreement. Indeed, the only Irish military aircraft that regularly enters foreign airspace is the Government jet.
The figures released by the Department of Transport are significant in that they reveal a doubling and trebling of annual payments for foreign military overflights by the Irish taxpayer over the last two years.
In 2003, as the US and Britain invaded Iraq, Government repayments to the IAA shot up from an average of €1 million per annum to almost €2.2 million. These charges reflect a doubling of military activity in Irish airspace coinciding with the start of US and British military operations in the Gulf.
Last year alone the Irish taxpayer paid over €3.6 million to the IAA in respect of military overflights.
This represents an average payment by the Irish taxpayer of approximately €10,000 per day for the facilitation of foreign military activity within our airspace.
Most Irish citizens associate military traffic through our airspace with the transit of US military personnel bound for Iraq through Shannon airport. However, the vast majority of those troops - 110,766 during the first four months of this year - travel on chartered civilian aircraft that pay full landing and associated charges to the relevant authorities.
Indeed, the revenues accruing from these charges prompted one Minister to state that the transit of US forces through Shannon was "good for business".
This being the case, it highlights the fact that the dramatically increased overflights in question - being paid for by the Irish taxpayer - comprise aircraft with specific military functions. These would include high-altitude bombers, strike aircraft, in-flight refuelling aircraft, reconnaissance and target-acquisition aircraft.
For operational and security reasons, the international military do not normally disclose the aircraft-type, unit designation or onward destination of military aircraft passing through non-aligned airspace. The US military is no exception in these matters.
It is clear, nevertheless, based on intelligence estimates and circumstantial logic, that the majority of military traffic overflying Irish territory consists of US air force aircraft. It is also extremely unlikely that all of the military aircraft passing through our airspace are bound for RAF Lakenheath, Mildenhall, in Britain, or Ramstein and Spangdahlem airbases in Germany.
Routine US flights to European airbases are reflected in the lower numbers of overflights recorded in Ireland prior to 2003 and the invasion of Iraq.
The lack of a clear inventory of the type of military aircraft passing through our airspace - suggesting increased operational sensitivity and secrecy - coupled with the exponential increase in air activity at this time strongly suggest that many of the military aircraft in question are participating in the war in Iraq.
Austria, a neutral state and like Ireland a member of Nato's Partnership for Peace (PfP) Organisation, denied Nato aircraft access to its airspace during the 1999 Serb air campaign. It does not exempt foreign military aircraft passing through its airspace from routine air traffic control charges.
Many PAYE workers and other taxpayers in Ireland would be alarmed at their tax deductions forming such a significant material contribution to the US war in Iraq. This is particularly so when such funds - up to €10,000 per day - are needed in areas such as healthcare and education.
In such circumstances many would demand that the US military pay its own way through our neutral airspace.
Dr Tom Clonan is a retired Army officer. He currently lectures in the school of media, DIT