Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

I thank Deputy O'Flynn for raising this matter. I assure him that there are structures in place between our Department of Justice and the Home Office in the United Kingdom in terms of the monitoring of the integrity of the common travel area. Obviously, we do not overly discuss all of those matters publicly for obvious reasons, but I can assure the Deputy that there are very good links at official level. I would also say more broadly that the decision taken this week by the UK Government and the EU to have closer co-operation can only be a positive in terms of working together on issues that clearly are global and bigger than any country's borders. We do, therefore, work very closely in this regard. We also have an obligation in terms of our own rules, making sure there is more efficient administration so that, regardless of how people enter our country or seek to enter the country, they get a quicker "Yes" or "No" answer as to whether they have a legal right to be here. That is a very important part of the integrity of our migration system.

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