John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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99. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if British Border Force officers being stationed at ports and airports here has been discussed; and her views on whether this is acceptable to Ireland. [5337/17]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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132. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the negotiations or discussions that are taking place regarding Border control from within Ireland for the UK once Brexit has been completed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5867/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 99 and 132 together.

There are no UK Border Force Officers based at Irish airports or ports and there are no discussions taking place in this regard.

It has always been the case that Ireland and the United Kingdom cooperate closely on jointly securing the external border of the Common Travel Area (CTA) and we will continue to cooperate, and to strengthen that cooperation, in the future. In that regard a central feature of the operation of the CTA has been that each State enforces the other's conditions of landing for non-EEA nationals, thus protecting each other's borders. In addition, cooperation extends across a number of other areas including the sharing of information and at an operational level on enforcement. For example, on the information front, last year new Regulations to allow for Advanced Passenger Information to be made available from Irish carriers in order to further enhance the integrity of the Common Travel Area were introduced. The development of the British-Irish Visa System was facilitated by this arrangement and indeed could not have happened without the electronic sharing of information such as biometrics.

I should point out that in the context of 'Brexit' while it is not possible at this juncture to say what arrangements will apply between the UK and the EU, particularly in respect of the movement of EU citizens (as this will ultimately be a matter that will feature within the negotiation process that will take place following the UK's formal notification to the European Council that it intends to leave), what I can make clear is that, while we will continue to maintain and enhance cooperation with the UK in relation to general immigration and border enforcement, Ireland of course remains a committed member of the European Union and will continue to uphold the right of free movement for all EU citizens after the UK leaves the Union.