Michael McNamara
Question:251. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Justice how many of the 3,285 persons who arrived to Dublin Airport without a valid identity document In 2023 did not seek international protection. [2233/24]
View answerThursday, 18 January 2024
Questions (251, 252)
Michael McNamara
Question:252. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Justice how many of the 3,285 persons who arrived to Dublin Airport without a valid identity document were refused leave to enter the State. [2234/24]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 251 and 252 together.
The Border Management Unit of my Department and the Garda National Immigration Bureau are working closely with airlines on a range of measures to ensure that passengers have the appropriate travel documentation when boarding. Immigration officials are available 24/7 to assist airlines with queries in relation to immigration matters.
In addition to providing advice to airlines on specific queries, training is provided to airline ground staff on current travel documentation requirements to help them reduce the number of passengers boarding flights without correct documentation.
2023 has seen a reduction of one third in the number of persons arriving at Dublin Airport without valid identity documents.
All persons arriving without valid documentation will be refused leave to land, As such, all of the 3,285 persons recorded without valid identity documents were refused leave to enter the State.
While systems do not allow for the extraction of the precise data requested, 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. It is also the case that some people with valid travel documents seek to enter the international protection process.
Border Management Unit (BMU) and the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) have an ongoing intelligence-led programme of operations at airplanes to detect passengers who destroyed documents inflight and to identify the point of embarkation of undocumented passengers.