Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 109: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the protections available to prevent the entry into Ireland of persons from abroad who have criminal records and would represent a threat; if he is satisfied with the success of these measures; and the number of persons who have been convicted in the past 12 months in Ireland who had prior criminal records abroad. [14359/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Section 4 (3)(d) of the Immigration Act, 2004 permits refusal of entry to "a non-national where the non-national has been convicted (whether in the State or elsewhere) of an offence that may be punished under the law of the place of conviction by imprisonment for a period of one year or by a more severe penalty". A person can also be refused a visa where there is a history of criminality.

The powers of the State are more constrained, however, when it comes to a national of another Member State of the European Union.

Article 5 of Directive 2004/38/EC on the right of Union citizens and their family members to move a reside freely within the territories of the Member States provides for the right of entry to the territory of a Member State to a Union citizen and their family members. Including family members who are not nationals of Member State. While this right is not unqualified, Article 35 of the Directive allows Member States to adopt measures to refuse terminate or withdraw any rights conferred under the Directive in cases of abuse of rights or fraud, strict conditions apply to Member States which take such actions.

Article 27 of the Directive sets out the circumstances in which Member States may restrict the rights of entry and residence of Union citizens and their family members. Member States may restrict the freedom of movement of Union citizens on public policy, public security and public health grounds and are free, as such, to determine the requirements of public policy and public security for their own territory. It is important to stress however that Member States are prohibited from taking such actions only on the basis of a previous criminal conviction.

Restrictive measures may be taken only on a case-by-case basis where the personal conduct of the individual concerned represents a genuine, present and serious threat affecting one of the fundamental interests of society of the host Member State. A previous criminal conviction can be taken into account, but only in so far as the circumstances which gave rise to that conviction are evidence of personal conduct which constitutes a present and serious threat to public policy.

A key element in combatting the movement of criminals is co-operation. In particular, Ireland and the UK work closely to try to curb illegal migration and organised crime in the common travel area. Operation Gull was established to curb illegal migration between Ireland and Great Britain through Northern Ireland. Over one hundred (100) operations have been carried out to date, at ports of entry both here and in the North. Other initiatives have been developed in relation to joint training, sharing immigration liaison officer resources and immigration information and biometric exchanges. Furthermore both states are developing electronic data processing systems to enhance border management particularly at the external borders of the common travel area.

As regards the last part of the Deputy's Question, as regards the number of persons who have been convicted in the past 12 months in Ireland who had prior criminal records abroad, I have no official responsibility to the Dáil in relation to this matter. Statistics in relation to such convictions is a matter for the Courts Service, which, under the Courts Service Act, 1998 is independent in the performance of its functions (s. 4(3)), which include the management of the courts, (s.5(a)) and provision of statistics (s. 5(c)).