Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I oppose this amendment. Section 2(1) applies to persons who arrive in a vehicle from a place outside the State other than the common travel area. The requirements in paragraphs (a) and (b) of the subsection are for the carrier to ensure everyone on his or her vehicle disembarks in compliance with any directions given by an immigration officer and that everyone on the vehicle is presented to an immigration officer. The requirement of subsection (3)(a) is that, when asked for, everyone on the vehicle should be listed. These requirements cannot be confined to non-nationals.

Does the mover of the amendment expect the carrier to separate Irish passengers from others in the context of complying with a simple direction to disembark or any of the other requirements? That would undoubtedly lead to interminable delays and confusion at ports and airports and to far greater inconvenience for carriers and passengers than compliance with the straightforward requirement envisaged in the Bill. Picture the situation with the amendments in operation. Imagine someone in charge of a vehicle who does not wish to co-operate with the immigration authorities, refuses to comply with any of the requirements, looks the immigration officer in the eye and says all of the persons on board his or her vehicle are Irish. What is the immigration officer to do? How can he or she tell whether the carrier is telling the truth? The answer is that he or she cannot because the amendment would deprive him or her of the power to carry out verifying checks. I am, therefore, opposing the amendment on grounds of impracticability.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.