Sir, – Contrary to what John Thompson and Rachel Cave believe (October 14th), there is absolutely no comparison between the proposed British/Irish Border control collaboration and the existing arrangements with the US.
The British government is proposing that Ireland apply tighter controls to people arriving from anywhere in the world, to minimise illegal immigration to the UK. Conversely, the US does not have any influence over people entering Ireland, it is simply allowed to process US-bound passengers in Ireland prior to their departure.
In any case, the UK proposal makes no sense, as Ireland cannot seek to restrict entry of other EU citizens. Concerns about eastern European immigration to the UK are not going to be addressed by an arrangement that would enable those immigrants to simply fly to Dublin, travel across the Border, and then onwards to Britain without encountering any UK border controls. – Yours, etc,
JACK NORTHWOOD,
Murrumbeena,
Victoria, Australia.