Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 5 November 2015

Public Accounts Committee

Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General 2014
Vote 21: Prisons
Vote 24: Department of Justice and Equality
Chapter 9: Development of Prison Accommodation in Dublin

10:00 am

Mr. Noel Waters:

Yes. Let me outline what seems to be happening and what is a concern for us. The applicant cohort in the United Kingdom from the countries the Deputy is referring to tends to comprise young males in their early to mid-20s, or perhaps a little older. One of the benefits of our common travel area system is that we can check with our colleagues in the United Kingdom whether our applicants already have immigration status in the United Kingdom. In many cases, the applicants are people who might have arrived in the United Kingdom as students and whose immigration status has expired. In order to remain within the common travel area of Ireland and the United Kingdom, they come to Ireland, make an application here and, in some instances, remain. In some instances, when their applications are dealt with, they will have disappeared back into the system. It is a concern and-----

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