Irish parliament announces Santa has been permitted to enter airspace over Christmas

Santa Claus has officially been granted permission to enter Irish airspace this Christmas.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar made the announcement - which has become an annual tradition - during Leaders’ Questions on Wednesday afternoon (13 December).

“I would like to confirm that Santa Claus has permission to enter Irish airspace and to cross our borders from December 24 to December 25,” he told the Dáil.

“I want to thank IAA, the Department of Agriculture and the Revenue Commissioners for allowing the necessary exemptions to occur.”