Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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564. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons who have been detained when arriving into Ireland and charged with travelling on a fake Canadian passport in the years of 2022 and to date in 2023, in tabular form. [8346/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Border Management Unit of my Department is responsible for frontline immigration duties at Dublin Airport only. All other ports of entry are the responsibility of the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB).

The State has a duty to protect its borders and following examination, ensure that all arriving passengers are entitled to enter the State. This is a fundamental exercise of State sovereignty, which is necessary to protect the security of the State and to prevent illegal immigration. The exercise of powers in this area is at all times subject to the law and to respect for individual rights.

Immigration officials conduct passport checks on arrival to ensure passengers are properly documented in accordance with Section 11 of the Immigration Act 2004.

Where a person is suspected of travelling on false documentation they are referred to An Garda Síochána. For operational reasons and to protect against inadvertently revealing the identity of individuals involved, it is not possible to advise the numbers of persons refused and charged.