Costello shocked by new information on Shannon

12 August 2011

by Cllr Joe Costello

I am shocked by the information uncovered by RTE in its freedom of information request. It is unacceptable that the previous Government continued to make Shannon Airport available for the transport of soldiers and military equipment to warzones in Afghanistan and Iraq, even though the American authorities were willing to divert these flights from a neural county to a NATO member country.

Over 100,000 people marched in Ireland against the use of Shannon Airport and Irish airspace for the transportation of soldiers and weapons of war to Iraq. Moreover, there was strong evidence to suggest that Ireland was used by the CIA for the transport of prisoners to Guantanamo Bay, in the process known as 'extraordinary rendition'.

It is time to that we looked at Shannon in terms of developing it as an international hub for the transport of food, clothes and medical equipment in the event of natural disasters, such as tsunamis and earthquakes. Also, it could become a base for Ireland to develop a new project on conflict resolution and peace keeping under the office of the European Union.

Shannon needs a major economic boost. The United States will have withdrawn completely from Iraq and Afghanistan within 18 months and the money earned from transportation of US military will soon peter out. It is now time to look at the use of Shannon from the point of view of a neutral country, and provide a new economic base through international peace-keeping and humanitarian support.