Ireland may lack 'robust' asylum seeker checks over EU database exclusion
Immigration officials in Ireland may not be able to perform robust identity checks and security screening on asylum seekers due to the country's lack of access to key EU security databases, a Government report has warned.
A new implementation plan for the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum - which is due to come into force next year - states that Ireland "may not be able to carry out the most robust identity validation" due to the country's exclusion from the Schengen Area and the related IT border security systems.
The plan prepared for the Government warns of a "concern" that Ireland "may not be able to adequately conduct screening" because it will not have access to the EU's Entry/Exit system, the European Travel Information and Authorisation System, and the EU Visa Information System.
The EU's Entry/Exit system is a new IT system to help member states to manage the EU's external borders. It will be operational in October of this year, and will record the date and place of each entry and exit, facial images and fingerprints of travellers to the EU, and whether an individual has been refused entry to a country.
According to the European Commission, the database is designed to prevent irregular immigration, and identify travellers who have no right to enter, or have exceeded their permitted stay. The system can also identify travellers who are using fake identities or passports, and the information will be used to detect and investigate terrorist offences and other serious crimes.
Access to the system is restricted to countries in the Schengen area, which share information in order to allow the free movement of people between their borders.
The Schengen area includes most EU member states, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Ireland is not a member due to being part of the common travel area with the UK.
Ireland will also be excluded from the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) which will be a new entry requirement for visa-exempt nationals travelling to 30 European countries due to come into effect at the end of next year.
Immigration officials here are also not permitted to access the EU's Visa Information System which records the fingerprints and photographs of people applying for an EU visa.
This system allows officials in the participating member states to compare a visitor's finger scans, and photographs to those held on the database. A mismatch would result in further checks on the travellers identity.
The Government's National Implementation Plan for the Pact on Migration and Asylum warns that without access to these systems, "Ireland may not be able to carry out the most robust identity validation in line with the EU Pact requirements, as it is limited in its access to the full European search portal and Interoperability Framework".
Government officials are now attempting to establish if, and how, Ireland's inability to opt into these three systems will impact on the state's ability to complete all areas of security screening and to receive and share relevant data with other member states.
The Department of Justice told RTÉ's This Week programme that while Ireland will not have access to the entry/exit system, ETIAS and the Visa Information System - the Government has opted into the EuroDac system, which is a fingerprint database for asylum seekers that will be upgraded by June of next year.
It will store official documents and photographs of asylum seekers as well as their first place of application to help decrease secondary movement.
The Department said that while Ireland cannot opt in to the Schengen IT systems - the State intends to legislate nationally to align with its provisions.
It said the State will carry out screening on anybody who enters Ireland irregularly - this will consist of identity checks, health checks, security and criminal screening and gathering fingerprint data for the EuroDac database.
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