Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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118. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he is satisfied that racial profiling is not taking place at immigration controls in the airports and ports; the guidelines that are provided to immigration officers as to the way in which persons are selected for questioning at passport control as against those that are simply waived; if figures or records are kept on the number of persons questioned; if a disproportionate number of those are naturalised immigrants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45388/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I can assure the Deputy that racial profiling is not a feature of Irish immigration control.

There is no selection of persons at passport control. Every non-national arriving to the State by sea or air is required to present to an immigration officer and is required to produce a valid identity document or passport.

Passenger arriving by air or sea will have some interaction with an immigration officer. Most of these contacts are informal or routine requests to establish the purpose of entry to the State and are not necessary to record. The Deputy will also appreciate that given the volume of passengers arriving in the State (14 million at Dublin Airport in 2016) that it simply is not feasible to record all such interactions.

Immigration Officers operate in accordance with the relevant law. In the case of persons seeking entry to the State who are nationals of an EEA Member State or qualifying dependants, this is set out in Regulations which transpose the EU Freedom of Movement Directives. For non EEA nationals, the provisions of the Immigration Act 2004 relating to permission to enter and be in the State are applied.

In relation to Irish nationals, once an Immigration Officer is satisfied that the person is an Irish citizen that person is of no further interest from an immigration perspective and is free to continue.

A non EEA national who is admitted to the State will have his or her passport endorsed with a permission to enter stamp indicating purpose and duration of stay. A decision to refuse a non EEA national permission to enter the State is recorded and the person concerned provided with a written notice setting out the grounds for the decision.

Immigration officers receive comprehensive training as part of their induction. This includes modules on dealing appropriately and in a culturally sensitive way with passengers and the wider human rights context in which immigration officers carry out their duties.