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Border Communities Against Brexit have roundly condemned the planned move to introduce a new Electronic Authorisation Scheme for non Irish and UK cross border visitors in the new year.
Border Communities are appalled at the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme, which is part of the UK Borders Act and due to take effect from next year.
This scheme will require all Non Irish EU and European Economic Area Citizens; also non British and non Irish from other countries to apply prior to travelling.
To put this simply, an EU citizen from Germany, Poland etc would have to apply in advance and submit initially facial biometric data, and then in time finger print data as part of their application to travel from South to North.
This is utterly and completely unacceptable.
How could a truck driver delivering goods to Dundalk, Newry and Monaghan do their job?
How will American tourists who visit Ireland drive the Atlantic Way to visit the Giants Causeway?
How will our friends and neighbours who live in the Southern border counties; but come from other EU countries go about their lives without crossing into the North?
How will this law be policed?
Will the PSNI and the UK Border Force conduct checkpoint's in Border Communities and try to identify the Non Irish and Non British, will people be racially profiled?
But one of the biggest questions is, what will the immediate consequence be for those stopped by Law enforcement, then found to be in breach of this law; will they be immediately arrested and detained?
This Law effectively creates a Hard Border for Non Irish citizens living in Border Counties, and there is a huge responsibility for our politicians to do far more to lobby against this legislation and to immediately engage with the PSNI and ask serious detailed questions over its implementation.
