Irish officials discuss pre-clearance with US customs officials

Government representatives are meeting United States customs officials on Thursday to discuss concerns over the pre-clearance arrangement following US president Donald Trump’s executive order restricting immigration.

The pre-clearance arrangement mean passengers travelling to the US through Dublin and Shannon can pass all US entry controls - immigration, customs and agriculture - so that when they arrive at US airports they are treated as domestic passengers.

The Preclearance Consultative Group (PCG), which meets every year, was due to meet on March 1st, but Irish officials requested the meeting be brought forward in light of Mr Trump’s order.

The PCG is made up of representatives from the US Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection and the Transportation Security Administration, and from the Irish Department of Transport, as well as Dublin and Shannon Airports.

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Officials from the Department of Justice and the Department of Foreign Affairs will also attend.

The Ireland-US pre-clearance agreement may be terminated by either party, with one year’s written notice.

There is no provision for a suspension. The Government has already signalled its intention to retain pre-clearance facilities.

The preclearance agreement between the two governments was signed in 2008 and was underpinned in Ireland by the Aviation (Preclearance) Act 2009.

More than a million people used the facilities at Dublin airport last year, with 200,000 doing so at Shannon.