Vol. 577 No. 4
272 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the current passport control procedures in place on ferries crossing the Irish Sea; the frequency of inspections; the number of out of date, false passports and Irish passports respectively, which have been identified and confiscated at all passport control entry points in the past 12 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31680/03]
The State has no passport control procedures in place on ferries crossing the Irish Sea. There are immigration controls at each seaport at which Irish sea ferries disembark passengers and each sailing is subject to immigration control.
Information concerning the numbers of confiscated out of date passports, false passports and Irish passports is not compiled in the format requested by the Deputy. However, since 1 January 2003 a total of 1,163 identity documents have been confiscated by Garda immigration officers in the State for immigration related investigations.
