Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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530. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 326 of 8 February 2023, if he will name the 19 airlines that his Department has engaged with; the measures, if any, that each airline has agreed to put in place in response to these engagements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7423/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Immigration officials conduct passport checks on arrival to ensure passengers are properly documented in accordance with Section 11 of the Immigration Act 2004.

Valid travel documentation is required by carriers for boarding a flight to Ireland. However, some passengers are arriving at passport control without documents.

My Department’s Border Management Unit and the GNIB are working closely with the principal airlines arriving in the State on a range of measures to ensure that passengers have such documentation when boarding and remain available 24/7 to assist airlines with queries.

For security reasons and to protect the integrity of the immigration system, the Department of Justice does not comment operational procedures of the Border Management Unit or the Garda National Immigration Bureau.

The establishment of a person’s identity and nationality is an important feature of our immigration process. This is especially important in the context of people who enter the Irish State including those who enter for the purposes of making a claim for international protection.

Seeking International protection is a human right and when someone asks for protection at the border of a country, that country’s authorities must examine that application. Ireland, as a party to the Geneva Convention, must meet this obligation.

If a person indicates or is identified as being in need of international protection, they are admitted to the international protection process.