Clare’s Sinn Fein TD insists the continued use of Shannon Airport by the US military means Ireland’s neutrality should be called into question.
It comes after the Foreign Affairs Minister revealed he has no plans to end the arrangement in the Midwest, despite the US exiting Afghanistan earlier this year.
US military have been permitted to refuel at Shannon since 2002, with successive Governments here insisting the use of the base does not compromise this country’s neutrality.
The Irish Government has been urged by local advocacy groups to cease the arrangement of American troops passing through the Midwest after the US left Afghanistan earlier this year.
US military personnel are still passing through Shannon between missions, with arrangements in place not to carry arms or explosives.
The Foreign Affairs Minister says he has no plans to cease this arrangement, in spite of the US no longer being present in Afghanistan.
Speaking during a visit to Ennis last evening, Minister Simon Coveney insists the arrangement still ‘makes sense’.
The admission has prompted Clare’s Sinn Fein TD to suggest the continued use of Shannon by US military in its current form is compromising Irish neutrality.
Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne has labelled the arrangement as ‘the shame of Shannon’ in recent months.
The Kilrush-based representative believes further confirmation that the US is sticking to its commitment to carry no arms through the Midwest from the Department of Foreign Affairs is needed.
