Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As the Tánaiste knows, the common travel area has existed since the 1920s. It has never been codified in law, so the specific entitlements have never been set out and, therefore, could never be tested. It is a cause of concern that we will now have to do that for the first time. It is a reassurance that it will be a support for people, but it might have implications. For example, Dagmar Schiek, professor of European law at Queen's University, has asked fundamental questions about the rights of the spouses of Irish nationals, etc. These are things we need to set out. It is no longer an agreement; this will be a formal document that can be tested in the courts.

We need to see it and test it to ensure that, as the Tánaiste has said, it reaffirms all existing rights and entitlements. Will it be a document that can expand into the future to accommodate additional rights that might accrue to Irish citizens in the way that in the past the common travel area broadened over the decades?

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