Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 October 2022
344. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Justice if she will outline her plans for a deeper analysis of the allegations of racial profiling at the North-South Border which the Taoiseach said would be undertaken on 5 October 2022 (details supplied). [50803/22]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, under section 26 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), the Garda Commissioner has responsibility for all Garda operations, including conducting immigration checks at the land border.
Garda operations are conducted in a manner that respects human rights, and that supports the proper and effective administration of justice, which is reviewed on an ongoing basis.
The State has a duty to protect its borders and to 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.
Under the Common Travel Area, Irish citizens can move freely to live, work and study in the UK on the same basis as British citizens and vice versa. There is no physical infrastructure at the border for immigration controls between Ireland and Northern Ireland, although immigration checks do occur in both jurisdictions.
Checks are conducted for a variety of reasons and, as a result, the frequency of checks varies, which can also be dependent on operational requirements. These immigration checks take place in the context of the important and close cooperation between Irish and UK authorities on immigration and security matters. All EU citizens are entitled to unrestricted free movement of travel within the EU, provided they can establish their nationality and identity.
I am informed that if a vehicle is stopped for the purpose of an immigration check, all passengers are checked for identification which must establish both their identity and nationality. In such cases where a passenger is identified as an Irish or other EU national or a UK citizen, no further action is taken.
In cases where a passenger is identified as being a non-EEA national an assessment is carried out by the Immigration Officer in respect of whether or not that person has permission to be in the State under the provisions of the Immigration Act 2004, as amended. Any non-EEA national who is visa required must have a valid Irish visa before they seek to enter the State; this includes crossing the land border.
Any visa-required national who wishes to enter the State, and remain for up to 90 days must have a Type C Short Stay Visa. A visa-required national who wishes to reside in the State for longer than 90 days must have a Type D Long Stay Visa. They must also apply for further permission to remain before their initial permission to remain expires.
Having permission to reside in the UK does not remove the legal requirement to apply for an Irish Visa in order to enter the State.
The Garda National Immigration Bureau personnel liaise with UK Immigration Enforcement on an ongoing basis to mitigate risk in order to protect and prevent abuses of the Common Travel Area.
I have been assured that, in all cases, where an Immigration Officer stops a public transport vehicle travelling from Northern Ireland, the Garda members are clearly identifiable as members of An Garda Síochána and identify themselves as Immigration Officers for the purpose of carrying out the immigration check.
Racial profiling is not a feature of policing in Ireland and is not compatible with the human rights obligations of An Garda Síochána. The question of ethnicity in Garda interactions with the community is one which must be considered by An Garda Síochána in light of human rights principles on consent, privacy, data protection, non-discrimination and respect for the dignity of the individual.
Furthermore, it is important that we ensure that police powers are exercised in a consistent and unbiased way and that marginalised individuals and groups are not disproportionately impacted. The Garda Síochána (Powers) Bill will address the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland’s recommendation that - for the purposes of clarity and transparency - police powers of search, arrest and detention should be codified and supported by statutory codes of practice.
This is supported by relevant training to ensure members have the personal and professional expertise to proactively police Ireland's diverse community. For example since 1 April 2022 it is mandatory for all Garda Personnel, of all ranks and grades, to complete online Hate Crime training which includes a full section devoted to bias motivations.
The work of the over 350 Garda Diversity Officers is central to An Garda Síochána's efforts to meet the needs of our diverse communities. These Garda members are trained, developed and supported to actively engage with and attend to the concerns of our minority, diverse and hard to reach communities - providing reassurance, building trust and extending the accessibility of the Garda Service.
