Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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We learned yesterday that a number of arrests were made at Dublin Airport at the weekend in respect of an alleged illegal immigrant smuggling network that may have been operating in the airport for a considerable period. I commend the Garda National Immigration Bureau and other individuals in Dublin Airport who carry out work on behalf of the State on an ongoing basis in respect of our borders and in respect of immigration issues. I am conscious that a number of individuals were charged before the District Court in Dublin earlier today. I do not want to raise any issue in respect of their predicament or say anything that touches on their cases. These individuals are entitled to be presumed innocent until the contrary is established by the courts.

It is important for issues that may arise in respect of our borders, and for which the Tánaiste and the Department of Justice and Equality are responsible, to be raised in this House. If it is the case that our borders have been undermined and there has been an illegal entry of individuals or goods into our country, that is a particularly serious and grave matter. Every country must be able to defend and protect its own borders. It is imperative that this country is seen to be able to do that in this time of particular international sensitivity in respect of migration and the protection of borders. Was the Department of Justice and Equality aware before yesterday of any other examples of our borders being threatened? Was it aware of any other alleged illegal activity in our airports or ports?

If there have been any other allegations or suggestions of a breach of our immigration rules at Dublin Airport or any other airport, this House should be informed of that. I commend the authorities on the work they have done but it is very important that we are vigilant about this matter and that the Tánaiste provides assurances to the House that there are resources in place in respect of this matter.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The recent arrests at Dublin Airport pose the most serious questions about security at the facility. The Taoiseach and Tánaiste, who is present, must order a high-level review into the current security systems in use at the airport. At the very least, those systems appear to be quite porous and will cause major concern among the tens of millions of people travelling through the airport every year. We cannot underestimate just how many jobs are dependent on Dublin Airport, which is a key engine of the Irish economy. To have any doubt cast on the airport's security status is deeply worrying. It is very welcome that the Garda National Immigration Bureau has upped its surveillance with regard to people trafficking in the past year and a half but we must consider the totality of security, including at other airports and points of entry throughout the country.

We know people-smuggling is widespread throughout the world. It is an evil and lucrative trade, often involving women and young people who are forced into what is effectively sexual slavery and prostitution. Very often families and the people themselves run up enormous debts to traffickers. When I was Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection, I introduced legislation to give enhanced powers to social welfare officials and officers present at airports and ports to identify people entering and leaving Ireland in a bid to clamp down on benefit tourism. That initiative was very successful and we must send out a message that Ireland is not a soft touch on security. I would like to hear the Tánaiste respond in respect of the obvious need for a high-level review of security arrangements at airports and ports.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputies for raising this important topic. As Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality, maintaining the security of our borders is always an absolute priority for me. I assure the Deputies that this matter is being taken very seriously by the Government and I thank them for providing me with the opportunity to update the House on it. Security at our airports and ports is always kept under review and rates very well by international standards but a breach of this nature is clearly unacceptable and, in this instance, is of very serious public concern.

As the Deputies will be aware and Deputy O'Callaghan noted, there is an ongoing Garda investigation targeted at illegal immigration and people-smuggling through Dublin Airport. A number of people are before the courts with regard to this matter so it would not be appropriate in those circumstances to comment in detail on the particular case. However, like Deputy O'Callaghan, I commend An Garda Síochána and the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, INIS, on their work. An Garda Síochána considers this to be a smuggling operation rather than being terrorism or human trafficking-related. The issue remains very serious and we all know the enormous challenge, at national and European level, of trafficking of persons. It matches the drug trade in many ways in terms of criminal activity.

My Department has kept in close contact with the Department of Transport and both Aer Lingus and the Dublin Airport Authority are co-operating fully with the Garda investigation. The national civil aviation security committee, chaired by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, and comprising representatives from other Departments, An Garda Síochána, airports and airlines, reviews and recommends effective security measures with a view to advising Government on aviation security policy. The national civil aviation security committee is reviewing all issues relevant to aviation security at Dublin Airport, particularly any issue relating to the access arrangements at the airport. We need to know how this happened and why. Therefore, in light of the seriousness of the issue, I will work with my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, to review the procedures in place so the public can have full confidence in the security of our borders.

I will put a couple of facts on the record. Immigration officers at Dublin Airport process approximately 15 million passengers per annum and approximately 3,300 were refused leave to land last year, with over 4,000 being refused across all ports of entry. Constant vigilance is required and it is by such vigilance that a case like this is uncovered and investigated. It is clear that this case has an international dimension and gardaí are co-operating with other police authorities, including Interpol and Europol, as we do all the time, with the investigation. An Garda Síochána and other independent analysts have pointed out that this is not a matter unique to Dublin Airport and that other international airports face the same risks, challenges and threats of illegal immigration. When it comes to border security, we must remain vigilant at all times. Where breaches are discovered, they must be thoroughly investigated and feed into a wider review of port security generally to identify where any improvements can be made.

To answer the Deputy's question, we are not aware of any other related matters and none have been brought to our attention. Significant resources are put into policing our borders, including increased use of technology and the area of data sharing with other jurisdictions. Since becoming Minister I have put much emphasis on the interoperability of data systems so our security can be maintained and the Government has put in increased funding again this year into that issue. Last November, we took a major step forward in launching an automated connection to Interpol's lost and stolen travel documents database. In the first eight weeks of operating systematic checks against this database at Dublin Airport, over 700,000 documents were searched and a number of people were refused entry to Ireland on the basis of an alert on the system being triggered.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Tánaiste for her reply. I welcome the fact that she recognises that this is a matter of the utmost seriousness. I hope the review being conducted will be thorough and not limited to Dublin Airport. I hope it will consider all our airports and other ports. I note the Tánaiste's statement that it is the view of An Garda Síochána that the allegations regarding the airport on this occasion relate to smuggling. Irrespective of that, if we have a porous border it sends out a very negative message to the international community from Ireland. It is important we ensure our borders are adequately secure. It may just have been a smuggling operation in this case but who is to know whether in the past there may have been misuse or abuse of procedure for something more serious. I welcome the fact that the review is being conducted and a written review should be brought before a committee of the House or a committee of the Oireachtas to ensure and make it known publicly that our borders are adequately secure.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I thank the Tánaiste for her reply. With the clock ticking until the UK leaves the European Union, it is really vital that our borders are secure and any security issues at our airports or ports should be swiftly dealt with. I note with some concern that the Tánaiste stated that since last November and the connection to Interpol's lost and stolen documents database, in the first eight weeks of operating systematic checks, with 700,000 documents being searched, a number of people have been refused entry to Ireland on the basis of an alert on the system being triggered. That adds to the concerns, although it is good these people were identified. When I was Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection, I changed the position by giving enhanced powers at ports and airports to people like social welfare officers to limit and restrict benefit tourism.

6 o’clock

The Tánaiste needs to have an open mind about whether enhanced security arrangements need to be put in place.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy. I am going to call the Tánaiste. The Deputy is well over her time, Deputy and is eating into that of others.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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On the basis of the November examination, is the Tánaiste not concerned that Irish identities have been stolen? This is what her report suggests.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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It is important that we have Interpol's lost and stolen travel documents database and that it is working effectively. I am of the view that it will and should provide reassurance to people about data checking. I refer here to a variety of issues relating to alerts being on the system. It is good that we are part of the collaboration involved. The reason for some of the work I have been doing is to ensure that there is interoperability between different systems. The idea is to ensure that An Garda Síochána and our airport authorities have the most relevant and up-to-date data-checking systems that operate an international level. An Garda Síochána has further work to do, but the project is under way.

There is a particularly close operational relationship with the UK authorities in managing the security of the common travel area between Ireland and the UK. The gathering and sharing of relevant information is an important aspect of this co-operation. There are robust and constantly-evolving security information sharing arrangements in place between Ireland and the UK. For example, last year Ireland introduced new regulations to enable the UK to collect advanced passenger information from Irish carriers in respect of passengers entering the UK from Ireland. In the first half of this year, we will begin to process advance passenger information on flights.

It was rather difficult to get agreement on this issue in the European Parliament. Ministers with responsibility for justice issues fought to have advance passenger information shared between countries and I supported the proposal. We will have this arrangement in place on flights from outside the EU. Preparations are also under way to implement the EU directive on passenger name records, a plan I have just referenced. These systems will provide further protection for our borders against crime, terrorism and illegal immigration threats. The information technology resources of An Garda Síochána are an important aspect of this. Last year, we started the connection to the Schengen information system, which is another important data-sharing system. This work continues.