Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to say a few words on this proposal. It is important from a security point of view and it shows that we can use technology to increase security and streamline people's passage through airports. It can be very stressful for people to go through airports, given the security measures and so on. It is important that if this technology can be used to provide API, travellers will be able to pass through airport security in a more streamlined manner rather than having to queue up for hours to do so.

I wish to raise a matter with the Minister of State, who might be able to enlighten me. My constituency office gets many queries from people who need to go to the UK for a funeral or a family event, possibly at short notice, but do not have a passport. A passport should not be required because there is the common travel area covering Ireland and the UK. A person can travel from Ireland to Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland or elsewhere in the UK without a passport. The person needs to have some form of identification to show the airline. Ryanair, however, insists on passengers having a passport. It is the only form of identification Ryanair will accept, whereas other airlines will accept other forms of identification, such as a public service card or a driver licence. A person travelling to the UK by ferry does not need a passport. This requirement is being foisted on people who book with Ryanair. They may realise they do not have a passport and be in a state of flux, especially if they are due to travel to attend a family funeral. This might affect older people whose brother or sister who was in England for a long time has passed away. It is very unfair that airlines are dictating the level of identity document they require. The identification required to go to the UK should be standardised. A photographic ID such as a public service card or a driver licence should be sufficient. If that is sufficient for some airlines, it should be sufficient for all airlines. Is this something that needs to be addressed with airline carriers? It creates a significant amount of stress and confusion and puts extreme pressure on the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Passport Service, which do their best, to get passports for people at short notice. I acknowledge the work they have done in recent years to tackle the backlog and ensure people get their passports on time. I have seen that work at first hand in recent years. Why is this happening with certain airlines but not with others? Ryanair will tell you how to run the country or your business or how to make a cup of tea, so it is no harm to ask it to get its house in order and accept something that is acceptable to every other airline in this country. I wish to bring this matter to the attention of the Government. It should be considered, although not in a brow-beating way, in order to make life a bit more comfortable for people in these situations. It is important that people who have to travel to a funeral in the UK, especially from the part of the west of Ireland where I live, can do so in a relaxed manner and know that they do not need a passport. They may book a flight and then realise a passport is needed but they do not have one. The airlines should make abundantly clear the identification they require. The standard should be that photographic ID such as a public service card or a driver licence is sufficient for travel within the common travel area. It is important for this issue to be raised. The Minister of State might bring it back to the Government to see how it can be addressed in order to bring about standardisation.

I welcome the provisions in the regulation before the House in terms of the use of technology to suppress international and other crime. That is important.

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