Tánaiste Micheál Martin has said companies that fly munitions through Irish sovereign airspace that do not abide by regulations may be refused flight permission in future.

It comes after the Department of Transport confirmed nine civilian aircraft, reported by The Ditch website to have carried munitions of war which were destined for Israel, did enter Irish sovereign airspace.

In a statement, the Department said it is engaging with the airlines involved and is working to confirm the accuracy of reports about cargo alleged to have been on board those flights.

It said it would not be helpful to speculate what course of action the Government might take in response “until the facts have been fully established”.

Speaking to reporters at the UN in New York, Micheál Martin said: “In terms of planes flying in Irish airspace, sovereign airspace, the Government never received any requests (for overflight permission). That’s what was said in the Dáil. So there was nothing to deny, because the Government wasn’t aware of any violations of Irish airspace.

“The Department of Transport has been in touch with the Belgian authorities in respect of this transport company.

“Clearly now there have been quite a number of flights that have been in violation of Irish sovereign airspace, and now remains for government, once we get further clarifications, and verification of the cargo on those planes to take whatever actions.”

Mr Martin said that the basic action that the Government can take is to say to airline companies that they may not fly through Irish sovereign airspace if they violate the basic rules.

“And that’s about all we can do…we’re not going to be flying planes, shadowing planes, and that’s not going to be a reality, let’s be honest.”

The Tánaiste said that there has to be consequences for companies that do not comply with rules and that it is a matter of the Government to consider once a final report is received from the Department of Transport.

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Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman said the Department was “following up” about flight manifests and what cargo the flights were carrying.

He said it is very important to understand the types of flights crossing our airspace which will allow the Government to respond “to ensure that our airspace is not being used for munitions that are for use against civilians in Gaza”.

Additional reporting Joe Mag Raollaigh

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