I propose to take Questions Nos. 411 and 412 together.
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.
The Border Management Unit of my Department is responsible for frontline Immigration at Dublin Airport only. Other ports of entry are the responsibility of the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB).
Under Section 4 of the Immigration Act 2004, an Immigration Officer must determine whether a non-EEA national should be granted leave to land and gain entry to the State. In performing their duties, an Officer is required to consider all of the circumstances of the individual at the time of entry. Section 4(3) of that Act sets out the full range of grounds on which a passenger may be refused.
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.
With regards to the number of flights that Immigration Officers conducted checks on, for security reasons and to protect the integrity of the immigration system, both I and my Department do not comment on operational procedures of the Border Management Unit or the Garda National Immigration Bureau.
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.
Both the BMU and the GNIB are working with airlines and international colleagues to take measures both at domestic airports and points of embarkation to address this issue. In addition to providing advice to airlines on specific queries, training is provided to airline ground staff on current travel documentation requirements. As can be seen from the figures below, the number of undocumented arrivals has reduced significantly this year.
If a person indicates or is identified as being in need of international protection they are admitted to the international protection process. However, they will still be recorded as a refusal of leave to land.
Statistics are not available in the manner requested for airports other than Dublin Airport.
Table 1 – Dublin Airport Summary
|
Year
|
Total Arriving Passengers
|
Total Refusals
|
Undocumented Arrivals
|
False Documents
|
|
2019
|
16,318,300
|
6151
|
1579
|
1849
|
|
2020
|
3,636,256
|
2077
|
712
|
169
|
|
2021
|
4,118,027
|
3210
|
2082
|
279
|
|
2022
|
13,930,041
|
7662
|
4968
|
832
|
|
2023 YtD
|
14,304,987
|
4,606
|
2,572
|
690
|
Table 2 – Refused Leave to Land for other International Airports
|
Year
|
Cork Airport
|
Kerry Airport
|
Knock International Airport
|
Shannon Airport
|
|
2020
|
55
|
<10
|
<10
|
<10
|
|
2021
|
24
|
<10
|
<10
|
18
|
|
2022
|
130
|
13
|
29
|
58
|
|
2023
|
72
|
<10
|
11
|
33
|
*Both tables may be subject to slight variance following data cleansing.
