Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 July 2026
477. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of airports, seaports and other locations currently designated for immigration control purposes together with the annual passenger throughput at each location, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52618/26]
View answer478. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of primary inspection desks, secondary inspection facilities, automated passport gates, immigration control booths, and dedicated biometric enrolment facilities currently available at each airport and seaport in the State, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52619/26]
View answer479. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of personnel currently assigned to immigration control duties at airports and seaports, broken down by immigration officers, Garda personnel, administrative staff, information technology staff, and contract staff, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52620/26]
View answer480. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the average processing time for arriving passengers at State immigration controls in the most recent year available, separately identifying Irish and British citizens, EU citizens and all other passengers, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52621/26]
View answer481. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the information technology systems presently used for passenger processing, immigration control and watchlist checking at the State's borders; the annual operating cost of each such system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52622/26]
View answer482. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether any assessment has been conducted regarding the integration of immigration databases with airline advance passenger information systems, visa systems;,Garda systems, British immigration systems and European Union border management systems; to provide copies of any such assessments that have been conducted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52623/26]
View answer483. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the extent to which the State currently possesses equipment capable of capturing facial images, fingerprints and other biometric identifiers for immigration and border management purposes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52624/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 477 to 483, inclusive, together.
I can advise the Deputy that the Immigration Act 2004 (Approved Ports) Regulations 2004 designate nine airports and nine seaports for people arriving by air and sea into the State, including Dublin Airport, Rosslare Harbour and Dublin Port among others.
The Border Management Unit (BMU) of my Department has responsibility for frontline immigration duties at Dublin Airport only. Other airports and other ports of entry are the responsibility of An Garda Síochána.
In 2025, 18,202,584 passengers arrived in Dublin Airport, and up to the end of quarter 2 of 2026 there were 8,954,664 passengers. It is not possible to give a breakdown of arriving passengers as requested by the Deputy as my Department does not hold such data.
The information in relation to the time taken to process individual passengers is not collated in a manner requested by the Deputy.
I can advise the Deputy, as of 30 June 2026, there are 175 BMU members of various grades engaged in frontline immigration functions at Dublin Airport and 8 administrative staff. The staffing levels in this unit are kept under constant review. The BMU are supported by the Department's central ICT unit.
There are 25 eGates, 43 immigration booths, and 8 fingerprinting machines at Dublin Airport.
I can advise the Deputy that the establishment of a person’s identity is an important feature of our immigration process. When a non-EEA national presents at border control, an Immigration Officer must determine whether that person should be granted leave to land and gain entry to the State. Everyone arriving at a port of entry will have their travel documents inspected by either an Immigration Officer or, for certain confined categories, an electronic system (E-gates).
A range of ICT systems support passenger processing and immigration control. These include advance passenger information systems, the Automated Visa Application and Tracking System (AVATS), Garda Immigration System, INTERPOL’s Stolen and Lost Travel Document database, as well as access to the Schengen Information System (SIS) II. Under this system Ireland sends and receives SIS II information (termed ‘Alerts’) on persons and objects; for example persons wanted for criminal purposes, missing persons and objects which have been stolen or are wanted as evidence for a judicial purpose.
For security reasons and to protect the integrity of the immigration system, neither I nor my Department can comment on specific operational procedures of the Border Management Unit (BMU) or the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB), including on the operation of SIS II.
In June this year new eGates opened at Dublin Airport, introducing enhanced technology designed to improve passenger flow, strengthen security measures and support increasing passenger numbers. The upgraded system includes improved facial comparison technology, enhanced impostor detection measures, a new two-step verification process and the introduction of ID card reader functionality for eligible passengers from participating countries.
I can also advise the Deputy that, from 12 June, all International Protection applicants aged 6 and over, and those who are found to be irregularly entering and illegally staying in Ireland are fingerprinted. These fingerprints are checked against Eurodac, an EU database which stores the fingerprints of asylum applicants and those who have been found to cross borders illegally. The Department procured additional fingerprint scanning devices to increase capacity across immigration offices, ports and airports for this purpose.
Implementing effective border security arrangements is a priority for me, and the Programme for Government commits to developing a border security strategy to deliver stronger border security, ensuring technology supports border screening and to reviewing the potential of extending pre-clearance mechanisms, such as electronic travel authorisation, for travel from designated third countries. This work is underway.
