MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS Helen McEntee has said Irish airspace is not being used by the US as it continues its offensive on Iran. 

She was asked today if Ireland will follow the approach taken by Switzerland, which has refused US overflights linked to the war in Iran. 

Switzerland has said that it refused two US requests to fly over its territory yesterday, citing its neutrality under international law.

Speaking to reporters in Boston this morning, where the minister is representing the Irish Government for its large St Patrick’s Day programme, McEntee said the Government has “no reason to believe” the US is using Irish airspace as part of its operations linked to the war in Iran.

“So we have a really long-established procedure in place, and it’s not just for the US, it’s for anybody who’s travelling through our airspace. And it makes it very clear that if you have any type of a military aircraft that is passing through or that’s stopping or refueling, that they cannot have munitions of war, they cannot be travelling to any type of a conflict,” McEntee said when questioned by The Journal.

“That’s very clear in the rules and the guidance that have been set out since about 1950. There are no plans to change that. But we’re very clear that if any aircraft is to stop or is to go through our airspace, that those rules are to be adhered to, and we have no reason to suggest that they’re not.” 

The minister added that the US has had “really positive and good engagement” with the EU for many decades in relation to this. 

McEntee is in Boston for the next few days as part of the Government’s annual St Patrick’s Day mission overseas. 

It is tradition for ministers and ministers of state to travel to different places around the world to mark St Patrick’s Day, and this time around 40 representatives are paying visits to cities across 50 different countries.

Later today, McEntee will take part in Boston’s St Patrick’s Day parade, which attracts approximately 1m people to the city. 

Speaking at the outset of her visit, the minister said the trip is an important opportunity to strengthen ties with the US, to engage on issues relevant to the US and Ireland and to engage with the large diaspora in Boston. 

US bombing of school in Iran

As the US and Israel continue their war on Iran, McEntee was this morning asked about the mounting evidence that the US was responsible for the bombing of a school in Iran, in which over 175 people, mainly children, were killed. 

Asked by The Journal if she condemns the attack, McEntee said any killing of children is “completely wrong”.

“I’ve said that already. I’ve said that on the record, on the floor of the Dáil. Any loss of life, innocent civilian life is to be condemned. And from my perspective, as the Irish Foreign Minister, I will always call out and call for not just de-escalation, but to move away from any form of violence.

“And this is something that I’ll be repeating and that I’ll be saying on my trip here. It’s something that I said last night to our Irish community, and certainly in my engagement with any of our representatives here in the US. Ireland’s position will always be that war and conflict is not the way forward.”

She added that Ireland will continue to call for dialogue and for all parties to get “back around the table”.

“We see from our own history and our own past what might seem impossible can be possible, where everybody comes together and where everybody has that shared goal and that shared objective. But killing of innocent children, civilians, in any way, shape or form, is utterly wrong and I cannot be any clearer than that.”