Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 May 2026
874. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the position regarding the guidelines in place for immigration department officers operating within Irish Airports; the mechanism in place that deem it necessary to carry out passport checks on the runway for arriving aircraft; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40046/26]
View answer875. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the position regarding the criteria that must be met to require immigration department officers to carry out passport checks on the runway for arriving aircraft; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40062/26]
View answer876. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration views on the merits of immigration department officers carrying out passport checks on the runway for arriving aircraft; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40048/26]
View answer877. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration regarding a code of practice in effect for immigration department officers in relation to the way in which passport checks are carried out for passengers arriving in Irish airports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40063/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 874, 875, 876 and 877 together.
The Border Management Unit (BMU) is part of the Immigration Service Delivery of my Department, and is responsible for front-line Immigration at Dublin Airport only. Other airports and other ports of entry are the responsibility of the Garda National Immigration Bureau.
Immigration officers carry out border management functions in order to protect the integrity of the State’s immigration system and ensure compliance with immigration law.
The establishment of a person’s identity and nationality is an important feature of our immigration process. At ports of entry, 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. Section 12 of the Act also provides that every non-national shall produce on demand their passport or IRP card to an Immigration Officer or a member of the Garda Síochána.
As part of this work, the BMU and An Garda Síochána conduct ongoing intelligence-led doorstop operations at aircraft arriving into Dublin Airport. These operations are undertaken to detect passengers who may have destroyed documents inflight and to identify the point of embarkation of undocumented passengers. In 2025 the BMU carried out 7,447 doorstop operations, and up to the end of April this year, 2,710 doorstop operations have been conducted by the BMU.
My Department is also working closely with airlines on a range of measures to ensure that passengers have the required documentation when boarding. This includes delivering in-person training to relevant airline ground-handling staff on immigration requirements and false travel documentation. BMU officials are available 24/7 to assist airlines with any immigration queries.
Both 2025 and 2024 saw a reduction of more than 50% in the number of people arriving at Dublin Airport without documentation compared with 2022.
For security reasons and to protect the integrity of the immigration system, both I and my Department do not comment on specific operational procedures of the BMU or An Garda Síochána.
