Joint Statement regarding the Common Travel Area

The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Dermot Ahern TD, and the UK Home Secretary Jacqui Smith in a joint statement today said:

"It is crucial that our two countries work closely together to ensure our borders are stronger than ever.

We have agreed a range of joint and national measures specifically to strengthen our Common Travel Area.  In developing these measures, both Governments fully recognise the particular circumstances of Northern Ireland.  Both Governments reaffirm that they have no plans to introduce fixed controls on either side of the Irish land border for immigration or other purposes.

We will tackle the challenges we face head on through the use of state of the art border technology, joint sea and port operations and the continued exchange of intelligence.  We are both introducing electronic border management systems so we can count people in and out of the country, and identify those people who may be of interest to our law enforcement authorities.

We are committed to preserving the Common Travel Area and its benefits for legitimate travellers." 

24 July 2008