As the Deputy will appreciate, every State has a duty to protect its borders and to refuse entry to those persons not entitled to enter the State. This is a fundamental exercise of State sovereignty necessary to protect the security of the State and to prevent illegal immigration.
The exercise of powers in this area is subject to the law and respect for individual rights.
I would point out that detention of a person refused entry to the State is undertaken as a last resort. Indeed, there is a statutory obligation to return a person refused entry permission as soon as is practicable. Most persons are returned on the same day that they are refused entry.
Detention and removal of persons refused permission to enter the State are essentially operational matters for the Garda National Immigration Bureau who work closely with civilian immigration officers on these matters.
Section 5 of the Immigration Act, 2003 (as amended by the International protection Act, 2015), contains the main provisions dealing with the removal from the State of persons refused permission to enter. It specifies that a person to whom this section applies may be arrested by an immigration officer or a member of the Garda Síochána and detained in a prescribed place of detention for the purpose of facilitating their removal from the State, which must be as soon as is practicable. It also provides that a person may be detained for a period not exceeding 12 hours at the airport or port from which the person is due to depart.
It is also worth noting that An Garda Síochána in conjunction with the Office of Public Works are undertaking a project at Dublin Airport to refurbish and fit-out an existing facility to provide a Garda Station, office accommodation and detention facilities.
The refurbishment works at the new Garda Station and Immigration facility at Dublin Airport has reached substantial completion stage and the facility is scheduled to be handed over to An Garda Síochána shortly, following the internal fit out of the building, furniture, installation of PCs and phones, etc. It is anticipated that the facility will become operational in May 2019.
