Border travel authorisation
Deputy McDonald challenged the proposed travel clearance requirement for non-Irish, non-British EU citizens crossing the island. The Minister rejected the measure, backed the common travel area, and said the issue would be raised with the British Government.
The British Government is pushing forward with the requirement for EU citizens who are not Irish or British to apply for travel clearance if they want to travel North to South or vice versa. This is a disgraceful situation. It undermines the Good Friday Agreement and the common travel area. It creates significant restrictions on freedom across our island. I do not know whether the Minister believes that it is acceptable but I find it wholly unacceptable that, for example, a Polish person who lives and works in Lifford, County Donegal would need papers to travel to Strabane, or from Emyvale to Aughnacloy. The Minister knows this is the reality for many people who live in our Border region.
It will be absolutely devastating for the tourism sector. All of us know that when visitors come, from the United States of America, for example, they travel right across the island. Should President Biden pay a visit to Ireland, we could be faced with the bizarre situation whereby he and his party are required to register for permission to travel across the island. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Coveney, has been in touch with Boris Johnson on this but the Taoiseach needs to intervene strongly with Boris Johnson to call this out. We need to mobilise diplomatically across the world to put a halt to this disgraceful action.
Comment on this
The Government stands foursquare behind the common travel area and the open Border in all respects. We do not in any way support or endorse the decision that was taken in the House of Commons. We have serious concerns about the proposal for an electronic travel authorisation system. We do not believe it is either practical or fair to seek to distinguish between EU citizens from other member states and Irish citizens going across the Border. There is a meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference later today and the issue will again be raised directly with the British Government. I assure the Deputy that we will be taking this up with the British Government at the highest level because we do not support this and we do not believe it is acceptable.