Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As the Tánaiste outlined, the common travel area, CTA, allows free movement of British and Irish citizens between the United Kingdom and Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man and provides access to various government services in each country in terms of healthcare, education and voting rights in certain elections. We welcome the fact that there has been agreement from all sides to maintain the common travel area.

The importance of maintaining the common travel area was acknowledged by Prime Minister May in her letter of 29 March 2017 triggering Article 50, the joint EU-UK progress report agreed at the European Council on 15 December 2017 and in the protocol to the draft withdrawal agreement published by the Commission on 28 February 2018. Although the CTA predates both Ireland's and the UK’s membership of the EU, maintaining it with the UK as a third country presents regulatory and operational challenges.

It is imperative that we maintain in full the reciprocity of civic rights and social welfare rights and entitlements that currently exist for Irish and UK citizens moving within Ireland and between Ireland and Britain under the CTA. In that regard, we seek clarity on what exactly has been done in terms of bilaterals between the Tánaiste and the UK. How far along are those preparations? What type of provisions has he put in place to date to maintain the common travel area?

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