Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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133. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding immigration; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16945/14]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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While I am unaware of the specific views expressed in the correspondence referred to by the Deputy I am happy to set out for the Deputy the broad range of measures in place in the State and the steps I have and am taking to further enhance our immigration controls to combat abuses of the system. Can I say at the outset that the overwhelming majority of migrants in Ireland are here lawfully and do not in any way engage in abuses of the immigration system. They range across a broad spectrum including those coming here to work having been granted work permits by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, students and those coming for business reasons, etc. Indeed, I have introduced a series of measures of encourage inward investment and job creation from non-EEA nationals by the introduction of the Entrepreneur and Investor schemes and by promoting increased tourism numbers through the Visa Waiver programme, leading to the roll-out in the Autumn of reciprocal arrangements for short-term visa holders so that they can move freely within the Common Travel Area.

That said, all modern States must operate appropriate controls on immigration and in this regard Ireland is no different than its fellow EU Member States. This includes a range of measures including border controls with specific checks at ports of entry and determinations on the making of Deportation / Removal Orders. In this regard over 2,200 persons were deported/removed from the State in 2013 including almost 1,900 persons who were refused entry into the State at ports of entry and were returned to the place from where they had come. In addition, 210 failed asylum seekers and illegal migrants were deported from the State in 2013 with a further 63 EU nationals returned to their countries of origin on foot of an EU Removal Order. A total of 84 asylum seekers were also transferred to the EU member state in which they first applied for asylum under the Dublin Regulation.

Specifically, the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service works very closely with their UK counterparts on maintaining the integrity of the Common Travel Area to ensure that it is not abused. This is achieved in a number of ways including sharing of information and data and close day to day cooperation. In addition, the Garda National Immigration Bureau carry out operations at ports of entry and on the border with Northern Ireland to detect such abuses. Since assuming office as Minister for Justice and Equality, I have introduced specific legislative measures to address potential immigration abuses such as the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking)(Amendment) Act 2013 which strengthens Ireland's anti-human trafficking provisions in line with recent European initiatives. In addition, Part II of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011 strengthens the powers of Immigration Officers to require production of identity documents by foreign nationals entering and residing in the State. Further measures to underpin the integrity of the immigration system will be provided for in the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill, which I intend to republish later this year. In addition, from January this year I introduced a policy document for family re-unification which sets out the framework of rules for persons from abroad who wish to join family members already in the State.

When dealing with illegal immigrant cases clearly they are not all the same and must be dealt with on a case by case basis taking account of their individual circumstances. At one end of the scale are those where the person's illegal status is through no fault of their own and my Department continues to deal with cases of this nature on an ongoing basis. However there are also much more egregious instances of immigration abuse, often at considerable expense to the State and it does not follow that such persons should profit from their conduct.