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Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Number of people stopped at the Northern Ireland land border and removed from the State is rising

Gardaí say that the passport checks at the border are to fight organised crime, but NGOs say they’re more like immigration controls.

THE NUMBER OF people stopped at the Northern Ireland land border and removed from the State is rising, garda figures show.

Data released exclusively to TheJournal.ie shows that there were 105 immigration offences detected near the border last year, but 140 in 2019 to date.

The Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris, said that passport checks at the border are “directed towards organised crime”, but NGOs say that they look more like “routine immigration controls”.

The figures cover “detections in respect of immigration-type offences” by gardaí checking southbound buses on the N1 road. 

The trend backs up anecdotal evidence from travellers and NGOs, who say that patrols had fallen off but have been stepped up recently.

Doireann Ansbro, senior research and policy officer at the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, said that the figures “seem to confirm what we and our colleagues at CAJ [the Committee on the Administration of Justice] have reported: that there are more immigration checks being carried out along the border than before”.

A spokesperson for the gardaí said that the figures represent “the number of persons who were refused leave to land, and removed from the state” by a Dundalk-based mobile patrol unit.

The Garda Commissioner has denied that there has been any change in policy on land border immigration checks.

Speaking to the Oireachtas Justice Committee last week, Harris said that “there is not a concentration of enforcement activity in respect of the common travel area and the border. This is just part of our ongoing efforts in respect of immigration crime”.

He added that the number of detections by the Dundalk unit were “far overshadowed” by immigration operations at the ports and airports at Dublin and Cork.

The Belfast-based Committee on the Administration of Justice and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties have raised fears that the checks are being carried out with no legal basis and that passengers are being racially profiled.

Asked about the NGOs’ concern by Senator Niall Ó Donnghaile, Harris said that the border checks were in response to “organised crime and the movement of individuals under coercion as human trafficking”.

Úna Boyd of the Committee on the Administration of Justice told TheJournal.ie that “while the Gardaí have indicated that checks on cross-border busses are influenced by concerns over human trafficking and organised crime, evidence indicates that the checks taking place are routine immigration controls rather than intelligence-led operations”.

Boyd said that “these figures do not tell us the number of people wrongly required to provide documentation, questioned or even removed from busses on the basis of an unlawful and discriminatory practice”.

Under the Immigration Act 2004, journeys within the common travel area are passport-free for British and Irish citizens, but non-nationals are required to produce a passport.

Harris said that “the common travel area, for all its strengths, also creates an opportunity for organised crime”.

“We are therefore obliged to police that and to do our utmost to ensure we are not subject to criminal gangs moving people illegally through this jurisdiction and, in effect, into Northern Ireland to get access then into the UK, or the reverse”.

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    Mute Mark Mccormack
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    Sep 26th 2019, 12:13 AM

    And rightly so

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    Mute DaMoons
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    Sep 26th 2019, 1:08 AM

    @Mark Mccormack: yeah, don’t think your skin is white enough ( better not go to Benidorm next year) to avoid getting pulled over.

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    Mute DaMoons
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    Sep 26th 2019, 1:13 AM

    @DaMoons: this is sick and wrong. Racial profiling is disgusting. In Derry, the PSNI ate profiling people based on whether or not they ate Nationalists. They gave random stop and searches that 90 percent of the time target Republicans/ Nationalists. Apartheid by another name.

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    Mute Thunder Snowman
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    Sep 26th 2019, 2:10 AM

    @DaMoons: When did the PSNI turn to cannibalism?

    255
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    Mute The decline of Manchester United
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    Sep 26th 2019, 2:14 AM

    @DaMoons: Why would they eat Nationalists? This is just wrong

    183
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    Mute thephantomshit
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    Sep 26th 2019, 6:02 AM

    @DaMoons: how is it racial profiling? Sounds more like bus profiling

    64
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    Mute Mark Mccormack
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    Sep 26th 2019, 6:47 AM

    @DaMoons: As an EU citizen I’m entitled to go to Benidorm. As non EU citizens require a visa and stamp for here and Benidorm. That’s the rules and the law.

    199
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    Mute Fachtna Roe
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    Sep 26th 2019, 8:15 AM

    @The decline of Manchester United: exactly! Are there no succulent Unionists for them to be nibbling on?

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    Mute Cormac Ó Braonáin
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    Sep 26th 2019, 8:20 AM

    @Fachtna Roe: that meat’s rotten!

    26
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    Mute Ian Breathnach
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    Sep 26th 2019, 12:16 AM

    I cannot see the issue here. If they’re doing immigration checks, that’s perfectly legitimate, isn’t it? People who are here illegally should be removed from the state because they have broken the law and haven’t followed the correct procedure to enter Irelan. What’s the point to this article? Is it for NGOs to whinge about something or other?

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    Mute Slafella
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    Sep 26th 2019, 12:30 AM

    @Ian Breathnach: Gardai do their duty on public roads on public transport . All perfectly within the law .
    Like yourself Ian I can’t see what the problem is.
    ” Doireann Ansbro, senior research and policy officer at the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, said that the figures “seem to confirm what we and our colleagues at CAJ [the Committee on the Administration of Justice] have reported: that there are more immigration checks being carried out along the border than before”.”
    Shock Horror ! Immigration checks at a border of all things !

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    Mute ciaran kehoe
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    Sep 26th 2019, 2:09 AM

    Well done to the Garda force for doing a good job

    464
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    Mute gerard carey
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    Sep 26th 2019, 12:59 AM

    I don’t see a problem here. Step up enforcement, because its the weakest link in a very weak chain. Why does the Journal keep these immigration articles until midnight almost every time?

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    Mute Mary Dunphy
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    Sep 26th 2019, 6:15 AM

    With Brexit occurring in the not too distant future a porous border on the land of Ireland would provide the easiest route to access the EU for those who have either entered the UK illegally or criminals evading the UK authorities . It is difficult to comprehend where these NGOs are coming from. Exactly whose civil liberties are they intent on protecting? Are they on the side of the law abiding citizens or those who break the law? No law abiding person would have any problem with their identity being verified at any border. Such actions are for the common good of the majority of citizens of any country whose border is being crossed.

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    Mute Peter donnelly
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    Sep 26th 2019, 2:52 PM

    @Mary Dunphy: I dont see the problem with border checks you go on holiday your passport is checked out and in to the country so what’s new ?

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    Mute Mary's Abbey
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    Sep 26th 2019, 7:24 AM

    Why are Irish taxpayers funding NGO’s who appear to promote illegal activity and denigrate the officials protecting our borders? Withdraw public funding from these organisations; it’s time for a complete overhaul of these “charities.”

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    Mute jamesdecay
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    Sep 26th 2019, 9:33 AM

    @Mary’s Abbey: good news! They are not funded by the taxpayer but by donations from the public.

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    Mute Pat Patovic
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    Sep 26th 2019, 11:48 AM

    @jamesdecay: Not really. They are funded with grants from other NGO’s and foundations. ICCL received next to nothing from public donations in the last couple of years.

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    Mute jamesdecay
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    Sep 26th 2019, 12:28 PM

    @Pat Patovic: but still fair to say not taxpayers money.

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    Mute Pat Patovic
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    Sep 26th 2019, 1:03 PM

    @jamesdecay: Not quite. Some of their donors are themselves funded by taxpayer money. Others are private donors like Soros and his Open Border Foundation.

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    Mute SteoG
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    Sep 26th 2019, 2:28 PM

    @Pat Patovic: Some are funded by Putin and are encouraged to engage in this silly sort of nonsense.

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    Mute Peter donnelly
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    Sep 26th 2019, 2:54 PM

    @Mary’s Abbey: ok i give up whats an ngo ??

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    Mute Pete Gilmartin
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    Sep 27th 2019, 12:23 AM

    @Mary’s Abbey: NGO’s are not funded by givt. Maybe you should try looking up what NGO stands for. Bit of a clue there.

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    Mute Nóné Applicablé
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    Sep 26th 2019, 7:35 AM

    I travel on cross border buses from three countries very frequently and these checks have been going on since I’ve been travelling (15) years. EVERYONE on the bus is asked for id and a little chat with the guard ensues so they can subtly see if further inquiry is needed. I have seen people of all colours asked for passports, one Australian (white) couple had to get their luggage from the boot to show their visa and I have never seen any so called racial profiling. ALL are asked and as far as I can tell the Gardai go by accents, not skin colour to see whether they need more info. I have only ever seen one (white) person removed from the bus and while I don’t know what country they were from, they had no passport or visa to travel across the border, and were dealt with very well by Gardaí.

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    Mute Nóné Applicablé
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    Sep 26th 2019, 7:39 AM

    @Nóné Applicablé: and this sort of sensationalist journalism worries me, creating a problem with little SOLID evidence to back it up. “Anecdotal” evidence? Where is the real research? While I do think these checks have increased in frequency again the Gardaí have been nothing but professional in my experience. However my experience is also anecdotal. Why not act like a journalist and go travel up and down on the buses for a week and get some real evidence? Or speak to the drivers, or the companies? What happened to real research???

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    Mute Nóné Applicablé
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    Sep 27th 2019, 9:35 AM

    @Nóné Applicablé: just noticed I meant companies not countries.. I travel on buses from all three companies that operate on the route.

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    Mute Lisa Lyndsey
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    Sep 26th 2019, 7:20 AM

    The Norwegians check passports on the border with Sweden. Nobody here has a problem with it.

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    Mute Matt Connolly
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    Sep 26th 2019, 8:26 AM

    @Lisa Lyndsey: Norway is outside the EU… You know the common travel area?

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    Mute Lisa Mannion
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    Sep 26th 2019, 9:02 AM

    @Matt Connolly: it has free movement of people and the three countries have a cta too. But don’t worry about facts

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    Mute Pat Patovic
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    Sep 26th 2019, 11:57 AM

    @Matt Connolly: Common travel area applies to Irish and UK citizens only. Period.
    Two of the non-EU members, Iceland and Norway, are part of the Nordic Passport Union and are officially classified as ‘states associated with the Schengen activities of the EU.
    If that is not enough then there is quite a lot of EU members actively applying immigration checks and controlling borders. Germany control everyone coming from Austria. There are border immigration checks on Italy/France/Spain borders, Austria/Hungary borders.
    Why on earth is this a racial profiling issue on Belfast-Dublin bus?

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    Mute Ace
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    Sep 26th 2019, 8:02 AM

    As a non white immigrant in Ireland. I don’t see any problem with it. And for the people who are whining about racial profiling, last time I checked, Ireland has majority of white people. So a non white guy is most likely to be a non Irish. Having said that they ask everyone on the bus (I have on one). Also it is Gardai right to ask for immigration documents and I feel it is important to remove the illegals from the state.

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    Mute Tomás De Paor
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    Sep 26th 2019, 8:06 AM

    So exactly whats the problem, if your in any country illegal then your breaking the law and should be dealt with accordingly.

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    Mute William Kelly
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    Sep 26th 2019, 7:22 AM

    Support our law enforcement system & personnel, especially in border areas.
    We do not need the badlands element that continue to operate criminal enterprises, now or for the future well being of the law abiding citizens.
    Unfortunately, to prevent illegality, our Gardai have to cause some inconveniences, but we should accept these in the spirit of co-operation.

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    Mute DaMoons
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    Sep 26th 2019, 8:40 AM

    @William Kelly: In truth, a united Ireland would remove the need for these checks in the middle of the Island.

    28
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    Mute Sk19
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    Sep 26th 2019, 8:02 AM

    Every country has a aright to control its borders, as we are in the Eu we have an Eu obligation ok, but how can anyone say we shouldn’t be able to control our borders to non EU. You can’t enter australia without a border check and visa , why shouldn’t it be any different here ?

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    Mute Tony Hanratty
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    Sep 26th 2019, 7:37 AM

    What’s the problem?
    Whiney NGOs.

    103
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    Mute Leroy Brown
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    Sep 26th 2019, 12:15 AM

    That bus, from Belfast to Dublin is affectionately known as ‘the drug bus’… drugs coming from NI to IE… no knee jerk required, the guards have just copped onto it… also, does anyone have any drugs?

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    Mute DublinDaningoli-Mbombo
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    Sep 26th 2019, 7:20 AM

    @Leroy Brown: You will get them on the bus

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    Mute Leroy Brown
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    Sep 26th 2019, 7:58 AM

    @DublinDaningoli-Mbombo: nice 1

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    Mute Peter
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    Sep 26th 2019, 1:03 AM

    When they’re removed from the state are they just put on a bus going northbound?

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    Mute DaMoons
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    Sep 26th 2019, 1:17 AM

    @Peter: Our Garda commissioner would never travel by bus. He is in the protected class.

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    Mute Derek Lyster
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    Sep 26th 2019, 7:15 AM

    @DaMoons: what’s your point?

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    Mute Nigel Mcatamney
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    Sep 26th 2019, 7:05 AM

    Nothing to see here folks. It’s a daily occurrence on the Belfast-Dublin bus…..
    Someone with a big brexit hard on, releasing slightly higher figures in a poor attempt at a news story. Sad….

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    Mute Galina Labinko Rodriguez
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    Sep 26th 2019, 11:59 AM

    Since when NGOs must tell the law enforcement units when and how to carry out the border checks? Seriously. Unless these NGOs are involved in human traffic. Look at the Open Arms NGO ship from Barcelona. They basically smuggle people under excuse of saving lives at sea. Those people pay up to 4 K per person to get in Spain or Italy. I guess now we have something going on on the border with NI.

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    Mute Paudie O'Connor
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    Sep 26th 2019, 1:10 PM

    Well done. Time to crack down on illegal Immigration. For far too long, the North has been used as a loophole, to enter the Republic illegally. Illegals get the ferry from Stranraer in Scotland to Larne in Northern Ireland, and literally stroll through the non existent Immigration and border checks. Get buses and trains down to the Republic, and hey presto, they are here to stay fraudulently. If they are managed to be rumbled, they just claim “Asylum” here, and abuse the process for years and years, by taking Judicial proceedings against the Irish Government, and their cases could be dragged out for up to 10 years. At that point, they have been granted “leave to remain” or “Subsidiary Protection” leave to remain. It’s well known that the Immigration authorities here take a lax approach, and that is exploited and circumvented by those arriving here in droves illegally. Time to get tough.

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    Mute JeremiahMcDonagh
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    Sep 26th 2019, 11:19 AM

    About time

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    Mute Paul Whelan
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    Sep 26th 2019, 1:23 PM

    We haven’t a clue who in this country.

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    Mute Paul Whelan
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    Sep 26th 2019, 6:47 AM

    Never seen this coming , this just proves we don’t need a defence forces.

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    Mute Jas
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    Sep 26th 2019, 8:52 AM

    If journeys are passport free for British or Irish citizens how can they prove they are British or Irish?

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    Mute Pat Patovic
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    Sep 26th 2019, 12:06 PM

    @Jas: It is not Passport free but rather an agreement that not everybody is going to be stopped and asked for identification. Being citizen of EU, UK or Ireland do not mean you can travel to another country without any form of identification. Not CTA but whole EU operate that way on their internal borders – checking for people who may not be citizens. It is you who do have an obligation to prove you can travel to another country.

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    Mute Geoff Dolan
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    Sep 26th 2019, 9:05 AM

    “Under the Immigration Act 2004, journeys within the common travel area are passport-free for British and Irish citizens, but non-nationals are required to produce a passport”

    So how does one prove one is an Irish or British citizen? Theoretically, someone of Asian ethnicity may well have attained Irish or British citizenship, but could have still retained their original accent. Meanwhile a Belarusian or Moldovan national will be ethnically white. They will need a visa to enter, but theoretically could be cute enough to have been drilled in a type of elocution that could mimic a Dublin accent.
    “Where you from?” says the Gard. “Ye wha?” “Feeenglis, yeah”
    Who do you think is going to be drilled further?
    And there is a lot of anecdotal evidence out there showing racial profiling happens on these buses. Americans are entitled to enter the state visa free for 90 days. Stories abound of Gardai getting on a bus, complelty ignoring the white-skinned passrngers amongst a group of Americans coming down from Belfast and going for the Americans of Black and Asian background to ask for their passport.

    Thus herein lies the problem. Or is this a problem for those of ye defending this practice?

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    Mute Pat Patovic
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    Sep 26th 2019, 12:16 PM

    @Geoff Dolan: You must have means to identify yourself when entering another country. It can be any valid travel document like national ID card or passport. Since Ireland does not have ID card you should have a passport when travelling to another country. How else do you plan to prove you can avail from CTA?

    Border Control and the Common Travel Area
    There are no passport controls in operation for Irish and UK citizens travelling between the 2 countries. You do not need to have a passport to enter the other country. However, all air and sea carriers require some form of identification and some regard a passport as the only valid identification. Immigration authorities may also require you to have valid official photo-identification which shows your nationality. As you are being asked to prove that you are an Irish or UK citizen who is entitled to avail of the Common Travel Area arrangements, it is advisable to travel with your passport.

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    Mute Derek McDonnell
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    Sep 26th 2019, 10:09 AM

    “The Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris, said that passport checks at the border are “directed towards organised crime”,”
    And organised criminals travel on Bus Eireann and not in Black Audis?
    Garda on bus “is that a violin?”
    Criminal “no an AK47″

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    Mute ginger tomcat
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    Sep 26th 2019, 12:05 PM

    I have met tourists visiting Ireland who have done giant causeway and other similar tours and had not realised they needed a visa as had crossed into north.
    Only found out in pub after got back, not saying is right but guards will occasionally encounter accidental issues resulting from non-malicous ignorance.
    Should bus operators be required ask visa questions to tourists before boarding in same way airlines do?

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    Mute SuperBohs
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    Sep 26th 2019, 10:21 AM

    Disgusting that anyone would support checking passports anywhere within Ireland except ports and airports
    Racists, however will love this

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    Mute Jonathan Ryan
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    Sep 26th 2019, 10:44 AM

    @SuperBohs: why just ports and airports?? I’m surprised that you even agree to that too be honest!

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    Mute Vladimir Macro
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    Sep 26th 2019, 1:27 PM

    F### NGos

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    Mute Laz Mahon
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    Sep 27th 2019, 6:41 AM

    My my this article has backed fired on our Do- gooders. NGO.,s. When it suits your narritive you encourage illigal activity. Why ?

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    Mute Laz Mahon
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    Sep 27th 2019, 6:42 AM

    My my this article has backed fired on our Do- gooders. NGO.,s. When it suits your naritive you encourage illigal activity. Why ?

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    Mute Paul Whelan
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    Sep 26th 2019, 10:07 PM

    Are we racists now Ted ha ha ha

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    Mute Paul Dooley
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    Sep 26th 2019, 8:08 PM

    Were they caught shooting down drones or what

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