Paul Lawless
Ceist:752. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of non-national individuals who have entered the State who have a previous criminal conviction. [63093/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 18 November 2025
Ceisteanna (752, 753, 754)
Paul Lawless
Ceist:753. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the steps he takes to identify individuals entering the State to ensure a thorough background check is being carried out. [63094/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraPaul Lawless
Ceist:754. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the process which is carried out to confirm the identity of an individual who enters the State without identification. [63095/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I propose to take Questions Nos. 752, 753 and 754 together.
Implementing effective border security arrangements is a priority for me as Minister. 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.
I can advise the Deputy that the establishment of a person’s identity is an important feature of the Irish 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 the Immigration Act 2004.
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. Section 4(3) of the Immigration Act 2004 sets out the full range of grounds on which a person may be refused.
In performing their duties, an Officer is required to consider all of the circumstances of the individual at the time of entry; this will include if the person has an alert on the Schengen Information System (SIS) II. 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.
The SIS II, allows for an easy exchange of information between national border control authorities, customs and police authorities on people who may have been involved in a serious crime. It also contains alerts on missing persons, in particular children, as well as information on certain property, such as banknotes, cars, vans, firearms and identity documents that may have been stolen, misappropriated or lost.
My Department does not record the number of people granted leave to land and who have a criminal conviction.
Additionally, I can advise the Deputy the EU Migration and Asylum Pact introduces mandatory processing times for International Protection applications. Ireland along with other Member States will be required to process applications in 3 months for an accelerated decision. This will apply to, amongst others, people who have misled authorities such as by destroying identity documents.
The General Scheme of a new International Protection Bill to give effect to the measures of the Pact was approved by Government on 29 April 2025. The drafting of the Bill is well advanced. It is expected that the Bill will be published by the end of the year. Enactment of the Bill and commencement of the Act is required by 11 June 2026.
In relation to screening under the Pact, Ireland is not participating in the 2024 Screening Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2024/1356), which is a Schengen measure, but the International Protection Bill will seek to appropriately align with that Regulation. Applicants for international protection will be required to undergo screening at a screening centre following their arrival in the State. One of the key purposes of screening is to verify the identity of an international protection applicant and to assess whether an applicant might pose a threat to internal security. This will be done by the examination of documentation, the taking of biometric data, and checks against relevant databases.
My Department and An Garda Síochána are 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.
BMU and An Garda Síochána 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. Last year in 2024, the BMU have carried out over 7,300 doorstep operations at Dublin Airport. Up to the end of October of this year, 5125 doorstep operations have been conducted by the BMU.
Question No. 753 answered with Question No. 752.
Question No. 754 answered with Question No. 752.