Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether he has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on proposals to introduce electronic travel authorisation passes for travel between Northern Ireland and Ireland.

The UK Government is committed to strengthening the security of the UK border by ensuring that everyone wishing to travel to the UK (except British and Irish citizens) has permission to do so in advance of travel. The Government will introduce an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme to close the current gap in advance permissions and to enhance our ability to prevent the travel of those who pose a threat to the UK.

The Government has been very clear in emphasising our continuing commitment to the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. An important part of this remains an absolute commitment not to operate routine immigration controls on journeys from within the Common Travel Area, with no immigration controls whatsoever on the Ireland-Northern Ireland land border.