David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

114. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the associated rights and privileges of the common travel area that will be included in the commitment in Article 2(2) of the draft protocol on Ireland-Northern Ireland of the draft UK-EU withdrawal agreement. [26366/18]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The maintenance of the Common Travel Area (CTA) is one of the Government’s priorities in the context of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

The CTA is a long-standing arrangement between the UK and Ireland which means Irish citizens can move freely to live, work, study, and access social benefits in the UK on the same basis as UK citizens and vice versa. The CTA is an arrangement that is valued on both islands and the continuation of this arrangement is a stated objective of both the Irish and UK Governments.

The Common Travel Area provides for associated rights and entitlements in both jurisdictions to enable Irish and UK citizens to move freely between them and reside in them. These rights and entitlements include access to employment, healthcare, education, and social benefits, as well as the right to vote in certain elections.

Article 2 in the Draft Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland is a translation into legal terms of the acknowledgment between the EU and UK negotiators made in their joint report of December 2017 that the UK and Ireland may “continue to make arrangements between themselves relating to the movement of persons between their territories”. This has been marked as green, indicating it has been agreed at negotiator level. This is a welcome provision in seeking to maintain the Common Travel Area, insofar as it relates to the EU-UK negotiations.

The primary focus of the work to maintain the Common Travel Area is bilateral and therefore does not relate to matters of negotiation between the EU and the UK. Work is ongoing, both with the UK and domestically, to ensure that the necessary provisions are made in both jurisdictions so that the CTA continues to function effectively after the UK leaves the EU.