Airline and ferry companies found carrying undocumented migrants into Ireland will face fines of up to €3,000 for each non-national, under a long-awaited Bill to be published today.
The legislation places a heavy onus on carriers to ensure all their passengers have valid travel documents and their vessels, aircraft or vehicles, are secured against entry by stowaways.
Such measures, which exist in all other EU states, have been criticised by the UNHCR and refugee lobby groups in Ireland. Government sources have said people arriving in Ireland will still be entitled to seek asylum if the legislation is passed. However, critics say many asylum-seekers do not have proper travel documents and such laws may wrongly bar them from making an asylum claim in Ireland.
Under the Immigration Bill 2002, carriers convicted of an offence will face a fixed fine of €3,000 for each non-national seeking to land in Ireland or transit through a port without a valid passport and, if necessary, a visa. The carrier could avoid going to court by paying an on-the-spot fine of €1,500 per person on foot of a notice served by an immigration official. Carriers must, if requested by an immigration officer, provide a list of all passengers and details of crew members.
The carriers' legislation had been flagged on several occasions, with the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, announcing its imminent introduction in November 1999 and again in November 2000.
The Bill also contains an amendment to a separate law restricting the media's ability to report on asylum issues which had been promised more than a year ago by Mr O'Donoghue.
Human rights groups and the National Union of Journalists had criticised the censorial nature of the Refugee Act, which required ministerial consent before asylum-seekers could be identified by the media.
The amendment removes the Act's requirement for the consent of the Minister before an asylum-seeker could be identified in newspapers, radio or television. A breach of the provision carried an original fine of €1,900 or 12 months' imprisonment, or both.
The informed consent of asylum-seekers will still be needed before they can be identified.