Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department’s policy is on UK military aircraft entering the airspace of the Republic of Ireland for operational purposes.

UK Military aircraft do not enter the sovereign airspace of Ireland for operational purposes, without the express prior agreement of the Irish Government. The RAF polices the UK Flight Information Region (FIR) on behalf of NATO and the international community and would only enter foreign national airspace when authorised to do so. Questions on sovereign airspace access and associated regulations are for individual nations to answer, therefore any questions on Irish airspace should be directed to the Irish Government.