Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein)
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Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis an Aire Stáit as a bheith linn. Tuigim go bhfuil an tAire, an Teachta Coveney, gnóthach ar maidin agus tá me ag súil go mór le comhfhreagras a dhéanamh leis maidir leis an ábhar seo. I appreciate that the Minister is at a Cabinet meeting this morning and otherwise engaged but this is an issue of fundamental concern to, I think, all of us. As I said last week, there are tens of thousands of journeys made across the Border each day. There are thousands of people living in this State who are non-Irish EU citizens and, indeed, many who are not from the EU. The Nationality and Borders Bill could be quite severe in its implications for their ability to freely move across this island.

We must remember that although the component parts of the approach to the withdrawal agreement and Brexit were multifaceted, one of them was that there would be no return to a hard border on this island. I am of the view there should be no Border on this island. The sooner we get rid of the Border, the better it will be for all of us. That is especially apparent now. The approach was not that there would be no return to a hard border for some. That there should be no return to a hard border for the Minister of State or me but that there would be a hardening of it for others should cause us all deep concern. While I find the broader aspects of this particular legislation going through Westminster especially repugnant with respect to what it seeks to do, this has a direct implication for people living in this State and it is crucial the many citizens this could impact on hear what the Government has to say. There a range of human rights organisations that are also keenly interested in hearing what the Government and, by extension, the EU have to say on this.

Thus far, it appears the British Government’s response has been almost blasé. We should not be blasé about this issue. There are people who make that journey from the Twenty-six Counties into the Six Counties for work, leisure, study or whatever. We must ensure those people have the exact same rights as the rest of us. I am sure the Minister of State would be uncomfortable, as would I, that somebody who has come to live here, made their lives here and contributed significantly to Irish life would have lesser rights than she or I. Across the Oireachtas and in conjunction with the Government, we need to collectively and collaboratively work to ensure we are articulating our concerns on the international stage but also work hard to try to reverse, if we can, some of the negative, regressive and punitive implications of this legislation on people living here. They should have the right and entitlement to move freely across all of our Thirty-two Counties in the same way we all do.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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As Senator Ó Donnghaile rightly said, the Minister for Foreign Affairs is at the Cabinet meeting at the moment, but he has given me a comprehensive response. I thank the Senator for raising this important matter, which is of great concern.

The Minister stated that we are closely monitoring the UK's new Nationality and Borders Bill as it progresses through the legislative process in Westminster. As the Senator will be aware, the Bill was passed in the House of Commons last week and has now proceeded to the House of Lords.

As currently drafted, the Nationality and Borders Bill would amend the UK's Immigration Act 1971 and potentially provide for a change in the UK's immigration rules, which may require that specified categories of individual - to be set down in the rules - have an electronic travel authorisation, ETA, in order to travel to the UK. This may include local journeys to the UK from within the common travel area, CTA, that is, travel from Ireland to Northern Ireland.

It is important to note that, while the Bill provides that the ETA requirement may be introduced, any such requirement would be introduced by way of future amendments to the UK's immigration rules. The UK Government has spoken about the requirement coming into effect by the end of 2024, although this timeframe may be subject to change.

It is also important to note that the Bill provides that the proposed ETA system will not apply to Irish and British citizens. It will continue to be the case that, for journeys on and across the island of Ireland, British and Irish citizens will not require any travel documents. The UK Government has also made clear that there will continue to be no immigration checks on the land Border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The Irish Government has several concerns regarding how the proposed ETA requirement, if introduced, would apply in the context of Northern Ireland, particularly regarding non-Irish and non-British nationals making local journeys across the land Border from Ireland into Northern Ireland. As the Senator will be aware, tens of thousands of people, including many non-Irish and non-British nationals living in Ireland, cross the Border every day as they go about their everyday lives visiting friends and family, going to work, studying, shopping and socialising. It is a shared space.

There are also considerations in terms of supply chains and for tourism on an all-island basis, should this proposed legislation impact on any cross-Border movements for non-Irish and non-British nationals. Officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs are therefore engaging with the UK Government to outline these concerns and to seek clarification as to how it is proposed to apply this requirement in Northern Ireland and what changes are intended to be introduced in future immigration rules.

I was privy to a report a couple of weeks ago which explained that 17% of people living in Ireland were not born here, but Ireland is their home. That is almost one in five. This would have a major effect on approximately one in five people who cross the Border on a daily basis for work, education, shopping or whatever else. The officials in the Department are therefore engaging with the UK Government to outline these concerns and to seek clarification as to how it is proposed to apply this requirement in Northern Ireland.

Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State for her response on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Coveney. It is a multifaceted issue. This has the potential to impact on a range of aspects of people’s lives. I think of the healthcare sector, for example, and the range of non-Irish and non-British citizens who work in it. What will happen if someone living in Donegal who crosses the Border to go to work in Altnagelvin has a car accident and is asked by the PSNI to produce this particular visa? Will he or she be deported?

What will happen when we promote Ireland under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement internationally as a single unit for tourism? Are we going to tell the thousands of tourists we want to attract to this island to enjoy the benefits of it that they are going to need to apply for a travel waiver for a particular section of it? It is crazy. The proposed change has implications right across society and Irish life. While I find the nature, approach and intent of the legislation going through Westminster repugnant in terms of what it seeks to do to migrants and refugees, we must be acutely aware of the direct implications for the outworking of this on life in Ireland.I am encouraged to hear that the Government is engaging but we need to be very vocal. We need to bring political clout to bear and ensure that the British Government hears that message on the world stage. We all have an obligation as Irish and EU citizens to ensure that our fellow EU citizens and, indeed, others, are not disproportionately disadvantaged as a result of a decision we did not take.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I have taken note of the Senator’s comments on this very important issue. As he knows, this Bill is an outworking of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union as it plans to tighten its border security and reduce levels of immigration. Brexit always had the potential to be profoundly disruptive for Northern Ireland and the island of Ireland as a whole. Along with our EU partners, we have consistently sought to minimise this disruption and we will continue to do so.

The Government is conscious of the cross-Border nature of many people’s lives on the island of Ireland and the continued protection of their way of life remains a priority. Our position is clear that there should be no hard border on the island of Ireland. This legislation remains under consideration in the UK Parliament. We will continue to engage with the UK Government to ensure that our position is clearly heard as the Nationality and Borders Bill progresses. I agree with the Senator that we need to be very vocal on this matter.