Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

The Minister for Transport does not accept that there is any undue delay in legislating for pre-clearance at Shannon Airport. Negotiations with the United States need to be concluded before legislation providing for such a facility can be drafted. Under the provisions of the Air Navigation and Transport (Pre-Inspection) Act 1986, Ireland has an agreement with the United States whereby all US-bound passengers departing from Shannon and Dublin airports are eligible for pre-inspection by the US authorities before departure.

Pre-inspection is the procedure whereby personnel from the US customs and border protection body, which is a division of the US Department of Homeland Security, carry out those inspections of passengers and aircraft crew that are required under US immigration and public health laws and regulations for entry to that country. Under the 1986 Act, the procedures are confined to immigration clearance only — they do not include inspections that are required under other US laws and regulations, such as agriculture and customs inspections. Pre-clearance is the process whereby all inspection and clearance requirements under US law for passengers arriving into the US are met at the departure airport. Passengers arriving at US airports are then processed without any further official contact. On arrival at the US airport, they have a status similar to that of passengers arriving from other US airports.

There would be benefits if pre-clearance facilities were introduced in Ireland. Passengers would be processed through all US entry procedures before they travel, knowing that when they arrive at their destination airport in the US they will enjoy an uninterrupted passage. Airlines would be able to use the less congested domestic airports or domestic terminals of international airports on arrival in the US. If pre-clearance facilities were available, Shannon Airport Authority would be able to market Shannon Airport as a hub for US-bound flights. Any attempt to move to a pre-clearance regime will require the negotiation of a pre-clearance agreement with the US. That agreement would have to be incorporated into Irish domestic law to enable pre-clearance operations to take place on Irish soil.

The proposals of the US authorities for the provision of pre-clearance facilities at Dublin and Shannon airports were submitted to the Department of Transport in late December 2007. Formal negotiations on the proposals with the US authorities commenced in January of this year. During his visit to Washington last week, the Minister for Transport, Deputy Dempsey, met the US Secretary of Homeland Security, Mr. Michael Chertoff, to discuss progress on the negotiations. While the content of the discussions must remain confidential, the Minister is looking forward to making good progress with the US authorities. As the matter is under negotiation, it is too early to say when the necessary intergovernmental agreement will be finalised and legislation will be brought before the Oireachtas. However, subject to Government approval, the Minister for Transport is targetting the end of year for the agreement and the legislation to be in place.

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