World Immigration News

State may struggle to carry out ‘robust’ immigration checks without access to EU’s IT system, warns report

Release Date: 2025-05-25
Media: The Irish Times
Summary: A recent Irish government report warns that Ireland may struggle to conduct robust identity checks and security screenings for asylum seekers due to limited access to key EU security databases. This is because Ireland is not part of the Schengen Area and thus cannot access three major EU IT systems: the Entry/Exit System, the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), and the Visa Information System (VIS).

These systems are central to the EU’s new Migration and Asylum Pact, which takes effect in June 2024 and aims to standardize immigration controls across member states. Despite these limitations, Ireland has opted into Eurodac (the EU fingerprint database for asylum seekers) and parts of the Schengen Information System (SIS), allowing some cooperation on asylum and judicial matters.

Ireland plans to align its national legislation with EU standards and is working with EU-Lisa, the agency managing large-scale justice IT systems, to improve interoperability and border security. Under the pact, Ireland intends to screen all asylum seekers within seven days, including health, vulnerability, and criminal checks, and register biometric data in Eurodac.

However, former military intelligence chief Michael Murphy criticized the government for not addressing the implications of the Common Travel Area with the UK or cross-border movement with Northern Ireland. He warned that the current lack of border controls poses a serious security risk and leaves the asylum system vulnerable to abuse.
Tags: Ireland

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