Travellers to Europe to have fingerprint scans

IRISH citizens will have their fingerprints scanned when travelling to mainland Europe as part of a security crackdown.

At present, Ireland and Britain do not share the same open border policy with the other EU countries. Under the current arrangement, Irish and British citizens have to show their passports at the border.

The EU has agreed a new, more secure system for issuing visas to visitors that will include biometric fingerprints and photographs.