Hundreds of travellers faced lengthy queues to pass through immigration checks after landing at Dublin Airport today.
Fine Gael Transport spokeswoman, Olivia Mitchell, claimed passengers had been delayed at Garda immigration booths for up to 90 minutes.
Fine Gael Transport spokeswoman, Olivia Mitchell
"The two immigration booths available to EU and domestic passengers were simply unable to cope with demand today but it would seem this is not a new development and gardai on duty indicated that these kinds of delays were a regular occurrence," the TD said.
"Hundreds of people were forced to queue for immigration in intolerable and overheated conditions for over an hour and a half."
A spokeswoman for the Dublin Airport Authority said urgent discussions were taking place between airport managers and An Garda Siochana to rectify the delays at immigration.
"It is difficult as we don't have direct control of the area, An Garda Siochana manage and man the booths," she said. "It is becoming quite a difficulty for passengers."
However, the spokeswoman said she had not received any reports of a 90-minute wait for immigration. She said some passengers faced a wait of up to 20 to 30 minutes.
The immigration area was enlarged recently with an extra booth installed. But it was confirmed only two out of the four booths were being manned by gardai today.
Ms Mitchell said it was intolerable to allow the situation to continue whether it arose from garda availability or from an inadequate number of immigration booths.
"It's not just uncomfortable and dangerous for hapless passengers; it undermines any ambition Dublin airport may have to become a hub in the future. A successful hub airport must be able to ensure the efficient throughput of passengers and make certain that nobody misses their onward flights," she said.