Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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109. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality her plans to ease visa restrictions between Ireland and Georgia; her plans to waiver visas for diplomatic passports; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47421/14]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The requirements for which countries are visa required to come to Ireland are kept under regular review in consultation with my colleague the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. Currently, there are no plans to implement the changes referred to by the Deputy.

The Government is pursuing a strategy of greater co-ordination and co-operation on visa issues with the UK authorities in the context of the Common Travel Area (CTA). This is exemplified by the launch in China at the end of October of the British Irish Visa Scheme which allows for travel to and around Ireland and the UK on a single visa. As part of this greater co-operation, the matter of alignment of those States whose citizens are visa required is also being examined. The greater the extent of alignment between the two jurisdictions, the greater the opportunity to increase the numbers of tourism and business visits to the CTA. At present, both Ireland and the UK require all citizens of Georgia to be in possession of a visa for travel to their jurisdiction and any proposals for change will also need to be considered in this context.