However, according to defence minister Willie O'Dea, "None of the infringements reported in 2004 and 2005 were considered to be a near miss."

Weston Aerodrome, owned by Jim Mansfield, the owner of the City West Hotel and Palmerstown Golf Course, said the 'encroachments' took place "due to the lack of aids to assist non-based visiting aircraft arriving to Weston."

The aerodrome has installed a new radio beacon called a Doppler High Frequency Omni Range and distance measuring equipment to help pilots find the right airfield.

However, according to the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), the equipment has not been switched on. The incidents are acknowledged in the IAA's current Air Space Proposal.

"When approaching the Visual Reporting Point at Palmerstown roundabout (heading south), Casement Aerodrome lies directly in a pilot's vision and until pilots approach the overhead of an airport, it is not possible to read the numbers painted on the end of the runway."

A conflict is now brewing between the Air Corps and Weston Aerodrome over attempts to convert Weston into an executive airport. Last month in a letter to the IAA, Ciaran Murphy of the Department of Defence executive branch, said: "The General Officer Commanding of the Irish Air Corps would have a major problem with the larger aircraft which could land and take off from Weston, as their requisite flight path would compromise the safety of the flight paths currently used by the Air Corps into Baldonnel."

The runway at Baldonnel runs almost perpendicular to the runway at Weston, 5.5km away. According to the Air Corps "that orientation will and does bring aircraft into military airspace. It is the contention of the Department of Defence that any development of Weston would require a reorientation of the runway. . ."