asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he is considering proposals for the compulsory fingerprinting of all non-EU nationals living here; the purpose of this proposal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2913/03]
Written Answers. - Immigration Policy.
25.
Ciarán Cuffe
Question:42 Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the type of fraud he wishes to combat by introducing the fingerprinting of all immigrants; if the fraud or criminal activity sought to be addressed could be committed by nationals also, for example, social welfare fraud; and if he has considered the discrimination implications. [2990/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 25 and 42 together.
It has long been the case that, subject to certain limited exceptions, every non-European Economic Area national who is present in the State for more than three months is required to register with the Garda Síochána in accordance with Article 11 of the Aliens Order 1946. Upon registration, he or she is given a Garda registration certificate which includes biographical details, a photograph and passport particulars. Details of the person in question are held on the Garda national immigration bureau's computer system which is now available to immigration officers at virtually all ports and airports throughout the State.
The order of 1946 also makes provision for the taking of fingerprints from persons during the course of the registration process. Although that provision is not used it has existed on the Statute Book for over 50 years. The Aliens Order 1946 is no longer simply a ministerial order – it has the force of primary legislation by virtue of the provisions of section 2 of the Immigration Act 1999. Therefore any consideration of the problem of identity or multiple identities in the sphere of immigration would involve the possibility of invoking a power which was obviously intended for that purpose and which exists in law but which has not been availed of to date.
No such power exists in relation to the population generally. The view of the Supreme Court, in relation to immigration law, is that the State must have very wide powers in the interest of the common good. A basic requirement in this regard is that of ensuring that the actual identity of immigrants is not the subject of falsification. Fingerprinting primarily concerns establishing that individuals are who they say they are.
Fraud in relation to identity documents is a feature of immigration systems worldwide. This is evidenced by the terms of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373/2001 which was adopted in the wake of the 11 September atrocities in the United States. The resolution requires that all States prevent the movement of terrorists or terrorist groups by,inter alia, controls on issuance of identity papers and travel documents, and through measures for preventing counterfeiting, forgery or fraudulent use of identity papers and travel documents.
Between 1999 and 2001 the number of legally resident non-EEA nationals in this jurisdiction grew from approximately 30,000 to over 90,000 – representing an increase of 200% in three years. These figures do not include asylum seekers. It would be naive to believe that the undoubted benefits accruing to the State from the scale of these migratory flows are not accompanied also by abuses and attempted abuses of the immigration system by transnational criminal gangs who specialise in establishing false identities for immigrants for illicit purposes. Passport forgeries, photo substituted passports and forged work permits are a constant and growing feature of the Irish immigration landscape. As a consequence there is a danger that persons who are legally resident in the State and who acquire possession of more than one passport may seek to register in two or more identities. The concerns which this generates for the State, or any State, are much wider than that of preventing welfare fraud.
The Garda registration certificate card, although not an identity card, has a value for identification purposes. This inevitably means that there is a certain level of false applications in order to establish false identities for criminal purposes. We have a duty to ensure that non-EEA nationals resident in the State are in compliance with our immigration laws both from a security aspect and to protect the integrity of our immigration system. This includes ensuring that the identities of non-EEA nationals resident here are registered on the basis of the best possible information available to us. It is not an issue of discriminating against one group of people; it is an issue of upholding the integrity and minimising the abuse of our immigration system. Given the serious threat posed by travel document abuse it is necessary to consider all options for establishing identities as conclusively as possible.