Written answers

Thursday, 24 October 2024

Department of Justice and Equality

Travel Documents

Photo of Peadar TóibínPeadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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261. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of people who arrived at each airport and ferry port for each of the last five years with no travel documents. [43682/24]

Photo of Helen McEnteeHelen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I can advise the deputy, the Border Management Unit of my Department is responsible for front-line Immigration at Dublin Airport only. Other airports and other ports of entry are the responsibility of the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB).

The establishment of a person’s identity and nationality is an important feature of our immigration process. Immigration officials conduct passport checks, and run operations as required, to ensure passengers arriving in the State are properly documented in accordance with Section 11 of the Immigration Act 2004.

I can advise the Deputy, my Department and the GNIB are working closely with airlines on a range of measures to ensure that passengers have such documentation when boarding. This includes delivering in-person training to relevant airline ground-handling staff on immigration requirements and false travel documentation. Border Management Unit officials are also available 24/7 to assist airlines with any immigration queries.

To the end of September 2024, the Border Management Unit have carried out over 6,000 doorstep operations at Dublin Airport. My Department has recorded a 34% reduction in 2023 in the number of persons arriving in the State without the correct documentation. 2024 has seen a further reduction in the numbers arriving without documentation.

Before the summer recess I brought forward legalisation which increases penalties for carriers who are found to not have conducted appropriate checks on the documentation of people boarding. The fines for carriers have increased from €3,000 to €5,000.

I also strengthened visa requirements to travel to Ireland, provided funding for an increase in the Garda Airport Liaison Officers network across European transport hubs and assigned additional resources to the Border Management Unit to facilitate disembarkment checks.

When a person is refused leave to land at Dublin airport, the Immigration Officer will arrange for the person to be referred to the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) for removal from the State. The priority is to return them on the next available return flight to the last point of embarkation. It is the case that the majority of those who present without appropriate documentation and refused leave to land seek to enter the international protection process.

The Deputy may also wish to know that the new EU Pact on Asylum and Migration introduces mandatory processing times for International Protection applications. Ireland along with other Member States will be required to process applications in 3 months for an accelerated decision. This will apply to, amongst others, people who have misled authorities such as by destroying identity documents.

The Table below details the number of arrival passengers, the number of persons who been refused permission to land in the State and the number of persons who have arrived without documentation in Dublin Airport between 2020 to 30 September 2024.

Dublin Airport Total Arriving Passengers Total Refusals Without Documentation
2020 3,636,256 2,077 712
2021 4,118,027 3,210 2,082
2022 13,930,041 7,662 4,968
2023 16,628,545 5,826 3,287
2024* 13,466,082 3,843 1,764

*to 30 September 2024

The table below details the number of persons who have been refused permission to land by An Garda Síochána at other ports of entry between 2020 to 30 September 2024. This includes persons who have been refused permission to land as they were not in possession of a valid passport or other equivalent document.

Refused Border with NI Cobh Cork Airport Cork Port Dublin Port Kerry Airport Knock Airport Limerick Rosslare Port Shannon Airport Waterford Port Other Total
2020 48 0 55 <10 105 <10 49 <10 <10 <10 279
2021 91 0 24 <10 78 <10 68 18 <10 <10 297
2022 44 0 130 <10 276 13 120 58 <10 <10 681
2023 67 21 124 <10 228 <10 23 <10 57 53 <10 <10 593
2024* 177 <10 93 <10 190 12 10 61 46 14 614

*to 30 September 2024

These figures may change when subject to data cleansing.

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