Foreign Affairs

Speaking on the proposed reciprocal visa arrangements between Ireland and the UK, Andrew Doyle TD from welcomes the proposed British Irish Visa Scheme which will allow free movement around the Common Travel Area agreement under a single visa and suggests that the Scheme will boost tourism.

Deputy Doyle commented that, “I welcome the announcement of the Scheme after asking the Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald TD, about the progress made concerning the imbalance short-stay Common Travel Area visa arrangements.  Currently, tourists and business visitors travelling from overseas have to enter the UK first in order to travel between the CTA under one visa.  Under the new agreement, however, visitors to the Common Travel Area agreement would be allowed to make their first arrival in either jurisdiction.”

“The Scheme will create a mini-Schengen Common Travel Area agreement system, allowing free travel between the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, and Ireland, all under a single visa.  The reciprocal agreement will apply to short-stay visas ranging from tourism to business and conference visits, as well as a combination of these.  For instance, a person attending a conference in the UK would be allowed to add on some holidays in Ireland to the visit.  The Scheme will not apply, however, to long term visas such as study and family reunification.”

“The Scheme will begin to be introduced in the autumn of this year, with China and India as the first countries to benefit from this plan.  The worldwide rollout of these arrangements will be completed by the end of 2015.  Prior to the commencement of the British Irish Visa Scheme, necessary technical and operational arrangements will be put in place such as the introduction of biometric capture (electronic fingerprints) for all Irish Visa applications.”

“The applications for Irish visas will still be processed and managed online by the automated application system known as AVATS (Automated Visa Application and Tracking System).  All of the arrangements for the visa information have been approved by the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner and that the protections currently applicable to visa applicants will continue to the visas under the Scheme.”

“The introduction of this reciprocal visa agreement can only help to increase the tourism industry in Ireland, as under the new agreements, a tourist could decide to spend five days in Ireland and then travel to the UK for two days,” concluded Deputy Doyle.

Fine Gael TD for Wicklow/Carlow, Andrew Doyle, today (Wednesday) welcomed the engagement by the Minister for Transport and Tourism, Leo Varadkar with Northern Ireland officials on the HGV levy. The Minister and his officials met with authorities in Northern Ireland on this issue, which although under the authority of the UK Government in Westminster, is particularly relevant to travel on this island.

Deputy Doyle said, “Among the options under review is a common road charging regime that would help increase our export potential and reduce the burden on HGVs. This is similar to the common charging system in place in Europe known as Eorovignette, whereby a single charge is payable but payers can use roads in more than one country.

“Given the proximity of Ireland and the UK, and in view of the current export market and export potential of goods and services, a common regime would be of enormous value. This would be of huge benefit to HGV operators North and South of the border and would avoid regulatory burdens currently imposed on them.”

“A long term solution would benefit the export potential of Irish goods and services to the UK by keeping our transport costs reasonable. Ongoing discussions with the UK including Northern Ireland at the North South Ministerial Council have started and a cross- departmental working group with the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government has been established.”