Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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519. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if Ireland will have access to the exchange of information between police and border authorities now that the Schengen information system has been achieved during the Irish EU Presidency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36224/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Schengen Agreement was incorporated into the framework of the European Union under the Treaty of Amsterdam. The relevant Protocol recognised the fact that Ireland and the United Kingdom were not parties to the Schengen Agreement and made provision to allow those Member States to accept some or all of its provisions. The Schengen Information System is the mechanism through which Schengen-related information is exchanged electronically. The second generation of this system was brought into operation in April 2013.

Ireland has successfully applied to take part in certain elements of the Schengen Agreement, including police cooperation. Our application to participate in the specified articles of the Agreement was approved by a Council Decision and, in accordance with this Decision, the provisions will come into effect only after a range of technical and legislative measures have been put in place and successfully evaluated by the Council. Ireland has not, however, applied to participate in the Schengen arrangements to the extent that they deal with the abolition of border checks. This is because the Common Travel Area with the United Kingdom could not continue to operate if Ireland were to remove border checks with Schengen States generally while the UK did not. In such circumstances land border controls would appear to be inevitable and it is obviously something that no Irish Government would seriously contemplate bringing about.

The measures which are needed to enable Ireland to meet its Schengen requirements are currently being pursued. These include the provision of national computer facilities to be linked to the Schengen Information System and the project will be progressed in the light of available resources.