Travel documents at Dublin Airport
Deputy Farrell raised the number of arrivals at Dublin Airport without travel documents and the very low rate of prosecution, while stressing asylum seekers’ rights. The Tánaiste said Ireland must respect international conventions but should better prevent abuse at the source by checking documents before boarding.
The Irish Times published an interesting article by Conor Gallagher today, which highlights the 4,200 people who presented to Dublin Airport without travel documents in the past 12 months. From that there has been just one prosecution and no conviction. I fully recognise that the Geneva Convention provides that those seeking asylum do not need to present travel documents and I do not want to give the impression that I would in any way seek to send a person legitimately seeking asylum in this country away; quite the contrary is the case.
Does the Tánaiste agree that one prosecution and no convictions out of the 4,200 cases at Dublin Airport in a 12-month period is concerning? Does he accept it illustrates that we might need to review the Immigration Act 2004 to ensure the toolkit is available for immigration officials and An Garda Síochána to review such matters properly? The act of presenting without appropriate travel documents must be disincentivised, that is, if a person does so without a legitimate cause.
Comment on this
There are a number of issues. We are bound by international conventions, including the Geneva Conventions, and so forth. We are looking to deal with this issue at source in terms of the boarding of planes in the first instance. If people board with documentation that then disappears, there will be a problem at the other end. The Deputy is referring to enforcement and to more effectively prevent it from happening in the first instance by analysis of documents before people get on a plane. We are dealing with a global migration challenge now. Even within the European Union, people can come into a country and seek housing immediately and they end up in emergency housing. It is a much more complex and mobile world. However people present themselves when seeking asylum, under international laws, we are obliged to process their asylum application.
I will raise this matter with the Cabinet subcommittee. It is very challenging and the most effective way to deal with this is to ensure people have legitimate documentation before they board.