Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 March 2024
816. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Justice if guidelines for carriers under section 2, subsection (8) of the Immigration Act 2003 have been published, and if so, if she will provide a copy of same. [11810/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraWhile no specific guidelines have been published in respect of the provision referred to, I can assure the Deputy that significant effort is being made by Immigration Officials to ensure compliance by carriers with their obligations. This includes actively engaging with airport authorities and airlines at a senior level to underscore the importance of passengers possessing correct documentation and to provide support in helping them to reduce the number of passengers boarding flights without the correct documentation.
The Border Management Unit of my Department and the GNIB are working closely with airlines on a range of measures to ensure that passengers have such documentation when boarding, including the delivery of in-person training to relevant airline ground-handling staff on immigration requirements and false travel documentation. Border Management Unit officials are available 24/7 to assist airlines with queries they have in relation to immigration matters.
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.
2023 has seen a reduction of one third in the number of persons arriving at Dublin Airport without the correct documentation.
I can further advise the Deputy that my officials have begun a review of the Carrier Liability provisions.
