Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 June 2023
485. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Justice how many people have entered Ireland without the valid documentation for the past five years, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31194/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra486. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Justice how many people have tried to enter Ireland without the valid documentation for the past five years, in tabular form; how many of these people were not allowed entry in to the country; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31195/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 485 and 486 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, as such the below figures reflect the position at Dublin Airport. Other ports of entry are the responsibility of the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB).
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.
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.
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.
The below table provides for the past 5 years in Dublin Airport the number of refusals and the number of which were undocumented. It should be noted Section 4(3) of the Immigration Act 2004 sets out the grounds under which a person may be refused entry to the State and these includes refusal reasons other than not being in possession of valid documentation. For example, a person may be refused entry where it is found that they intend to enter the State for purposes other than those expressed or that they intend to travel to Great Britain or Northern Ireland without qualifying for admission there.
|
Year |
Total Arriving Passengers |
Total Refusals |
Undocumented Arrivals |
|
2018 |
15,634,300 |
3999 |
895 |
|
2019 |
16,318,300 |
6151 |
1579 |
|
2020 |
3,636,256 |
2077 |
712 |
|
2021 |
4,118,027 |
3210 |
2082 |
|
2022 |
13,930,041 |
7662 |
4968 |
|
2023 YtD |
6,238,137 |
2,180 |
1,224 |
*2023 figure to the end May. May be subject to slight variance following data cleansing.
