Ireland’s immigration authorities may face significant challenges in conducting thorough identity checks and security screenings on asylum seekers, due to the State’s lack of access to major EU security databases, a new Government report has cautioned, reports RTE.
A newly published implementation plan for the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum – set to take effect next year – highlights that Ireland “may not be able to carry out the most robust identity validation” because it is outside the Schengen Area and excluded from key IT border control systems.
The report outlines concerns that Ireland “may not be able to adequately conduct screening” as it lacks access to the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES), the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), and the EU Visa Information System (VIS), reports RTE.
The Entry/Exit System, which will be operational in October, is designed to monitor travel into and out of the EU. It will log the dates and locations of entries and exits, collect facial images and fingerprints, and record instances of refused entry.
According to the European Commission, the EES aims to reduce illegal immigration, identify those overstaying visas or travelling on fake documents, and support investigations into terrorism and other serious crimes, reports RTE.
Only Schengen member states are permitted access to these systems. Schengen enables free movement between most EU countries, along with Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. Ireland is excluded due to its participation in the Common Travel Area with the UK.
Ireland will also be excluded from ETIAS, a new authorisation system for visa-exempt travellers, which is expected to launch at the end of next year. Additionally, it has no access to the VIS, which stores fingerprints and photos of visa applicants and is used to verify identities during border checks, reports RTE.
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The National Implementation Plan for the Migration Pact notes that without access to these tools, “Ireland may not be able to carry out the most robust identity validation in line with the EU Pact requirements,” and is constrained in accessing the full European search portal and interoperability frameworks.
Officials are now evaluating how Ireland’s lack of participation in these systems may affect its capacity to fully screen asylum seekers and exchange security data with EU partners, reports RTE.
The Department of Justice told RTÉ’s This Week programme that although Ireland won’t have access to the EES, ETIAS or VIS, it is participating in the EuroDac system—a fingerprint database for asylum seekers being updated by mid-2025.
The upgraded EuroDac will also store official documents and photos, as well as record where each asylum application is first made, helping to reduce secondary movement within the EU, reports RTE.
The Department added that although Ireland cannot join the Schengen IT systems, it will introduce national legislation to align with their procedures.
Under current plans, Ireland will continue to screen irregular entrants, which includes identity checks, health evaluations, criminal background assessments, and the collection of fingerprints for the EuroDac system, reports RTE.
Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín criticised the Government’s handling of the issue, blaming the lack of access to key EU databases on poor information management.
Speaking on RTÉ’s The Week in Politics, he said: “The Government hasn’t a clue what’s going on in so many aspects to this. It took me two years of asking the Minister for Justice where people were coming from before she actually found out,” reports RTE.
He added: “The answer is to share that information. We don’t necessarily have to opt in to Schengen. The information exists and that information should be provided to all EU countries,” reports RTE.
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