Airlines and ferry firms face steeper fines for passengers without correct documents

In the first six months of the year, 115 people were arrested for arriving without appropriate documentation, with a 'significant' number since convicted.

Airlines and ferry firms who fail to ensure that passengers have appropriate travel documentation are to be fined up to €5,000.

Justice Minister Helen McEntee has signed two orders to apply the increased fines to carriers from Monday.

A review, initiated earlier this year, recommended the increased fine to take into account of inflation and to bring Ireland into closer alignment with penalties imposed on carriers across Europe. 

Ms McEntee said the move is "one of a number of steps which I am taking to deliver a fair, but firm immigration system".

The running of doorstop operations at Dublin Airport, the training of airline staff, and the posting of gardaí to key European transport hubs have all worked to significantly reduce the numbers presenting without appropriate documentation, Ms McEntee said.

"This continued co-operation is key to upholding the integrity of our immigration system, ensuring protection for people who need it, and allowing us to quickly return those who do not qualify to be here to their country of origin."

In the first half of this year, the Garda National Immigration Bureau and the Border Management Unit carried out 4,500 "doorstop operations" at airplanes to target those who destroyed documents inflight. 

The number of people arriving in Ireland without the correct documentation in 2024 is on-course to be half of that in 2022, according to the Department of Justice.

In the first six months of the year, 115 people were arrested by gardaí for arriving without appropriate documentation, with a "significant" number since convicted.

There were 918 carrier liability fines issued up to the end of November last year, costing airlines a total of €1,476,000.