Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 74: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to concerns expressed by the Immigrant Council of Ireland regarding heavy handed treatment of tourists by some immigration officers, including a priest from Nigeria and a tourist from India who had won a trip to Ireland in a competition designed to promote tourism; his views on the concerns expressed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32866/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Every person landing in the State, including the holder of a visa, is obliged, pursuant to the provisions of section 11 (2) of the Immigration Act, 2004, to furnish to an Immigration Officer such information in such manner as an Immigration Officer may reasonably require for the purposes of the performance of his or her functions. The fact that a visa is a permission to present at the frontiers of the State but does not guarantee entry to the State, was confirmed by the High Court as recently as 23rd May 2008 (Emmanuel Omatayo James & Others — Minister for Justice Equality & Law Reform).

Section 4 of the Immigration Act, 2004 provides for an Immigration Officer to authorise a non-national to land in the State. Section 4(3) enumerates fourteen (14) circumstances in which an Immigration Officer, may, on behalf of the Minister, refuse to give a person a Permission to Land in the State. The circumstances, any one of which may give rise to a permission to land being refused, include, the fact that there is reason to believe that the non-national intends to enter the State for purposes other than those expressed by the non-national.

The above-mentioned High Court Judgement also decided that, as well as there being a requirement on the part of a visa holder to satisfy an Immigration Officer that he / she qualifies for admission to the State, the officer concerned must satisfy himself / herself that a person in possession of a visa in fact qualifies for admission to the State. In performing his or her functions under the Immigration Act, 2004, an Immigration Officer is obliged, pursuant to the provisions of the Act, to have regard to all the circumstances of the non-national concerned known to the officer or represented to the officer by him or her.

In the region of 3,000 persons are refused permission to enter the State at Dublin airport each year, representing 0.012% of the throughput of passengers using that airport (circa 25 million passengers per annum). Clearly, therefore, the vast majority of travellers provide information and documentation to Immigration Officers, on arrival in the State, which enables those officers to conclude that the intended visitors should be permitted to enter the State.

Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) officers have had to be particularly vigilant with regard to passengers arriving into the State, due to the fact that a wide range of modus operandi are being utilised by persons attempting to enter the State illegally. It is relevant that as recently as 27th July 2008, at Dublin airport, a person purporting to be a priest, who produced documentation purporting to verify that he had been ordained as a priest, and who was wearing clothing typically worn by a cleric, was refused leave to land and subsequently admitted that he was not in fact a priest.

Every effort is made by personnel at the Garda National Immigration Bureau to verify information supplied to them by persons making application for permission to enter the State. Personnel engaged in immigration control duties are tasked with detecting illegal immigration, with a view to protecting the State from terrorism and other forms of criminality, while processing millions of passengers. Every effort is made to fulfil this task in a courteous and efficient manner that causes the least possible inconvenience to everybody concerned.