Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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54. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will outline the repercussions of the regulation of the European Parliament and the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2016/399 as regards the reinforcement of checks against relevant databases at external borders for Ireland. [6487/17]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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55. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the precautions her Department has made in preparation of the regulation of the European Parliament and the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2016/399 as regards the reinforcement of checks against relevant databases at external borders. [6488/17]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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56. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the precautions her Department is making for Ireland, post Brexit, in view of the regulation of the European Parliament and the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2016/399 as regards the reinforcement of checks against relevant databases at external borders. [6489/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 54 to 56, inclusive, together.

In relation to Regulation (EU) 2016/399, it is proposed that Article 8(2) of the Schengen Borders Code be amended to introduce systematic checks of European Union citizens at the external borders of the Schengen Area. This proposal constitutes a development of the border provisions of the Schengen acquis in which Ireland does not take part, in accordance with Council Decision 2002/192/EC. Ireland is not bound by the Regulation or subject to its application. When the amendments are introduced, Irish citizens will be subject to the same checks entering the Schengen Area as other European Union citizens.

Ireland continues to progress a broad series of initiatives to strengthen border security. For instance, since November 2016 an automated connection to INTERPOL’s Lost and Stolen Travel Documents database was rolled out to all international airports and seaports. In the first eight weeks of operating systematic checks against this Database over 700,000 documents were searched, with a number of people having been refused entry to Ireland on the basis of an alert on the system having been triggered.

Later this year the Irish immigration authorities will begin to process Advance Passenger Information on flights into the State from outside the EU and preparations are also underway to implement the EU Directive on Passenger Name Records (PNR). These systems will provide further protection for our borders against crime, terrorism and illegal immigration threats.

The Government is committed to providing An Garda Síochána with the necessary resources to enhance their connectivity to a range of EU and other international resources and significant work is ongoing in this regard. This includes connecting to the Schengen Information System (SIS II), participating in other EU measures such as PRUM, and Interpol information-sharing resources relevant to countering security threats.

Regarding the specific Regulation, Brexit does not impact on this as both Ireland and the UK are currently outside Schengen and this is not expected to change. 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.