Asked by: Lord Kilclooney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether Irish citizens resident in Great Britain under the Common Travel Area have the right to vote in (1) general elections, (2) local elections, and (3) referendums; and whether UK citizens resident in the Republic of Ireland have the same rights to vote in (4) general elections, (5) local elections, and (6) referendums.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland have a long-standing reciprocal arrangement on voting rights between the two countries. Irish citizens resident in the UK can vote in UK Parliamentary and local elections. The franchise for UK-wide referendums is set on a case-by-case in the legislation providing for the referendum. British citizens resident in the Republic of Ireland can vote at Dail and local Elections but not in Presidential elections or referendums held in the Republic unless the British citizen is a also an Irish citizen.
Asked by: Lord Kilclooney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Common Travel Area, what is the estimated number of (1) UK citizens in the Republic of Ireland, and (2) Irish citizens in Great Britain.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon. Member's Parliamentary Question of 25 January is attached.
The Rt Hon the Lord of Kilclooney
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
1 February 2023
Dear Lord Kilclooney,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking further to the Common Travel Area, what is the estimated number of (1) UK citizens in the Republic of Ireland, and (2) Irish citizens in Great Britain (HL5084).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) does not produce estimates of the number of UK citizens living in Ireland. That country’s Central Statistics Office estimated that 103,113 UK citizens were living in Ireland in April 2016 (1). Population by nationality estimates based on the Annual Population Survey (APS) show that there were an estimated 330,000 Irish nationals resident in Great Britain in June 2021 (2).
The 2021 Census for England and Wales and the corresponding Census for Scotland, which due to the Covid pandemic was delayed until 2022, asked respondents about passports held which can be used as some proxy for citizenship. The relevant Census figures have not yet been published, though the first release of data on this topic for England and Wales showed that an estimated 364,726 residents of these countries held an Irish passport but not a UK passport (3).
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
1 https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-cpnin/cpnin/uk/
2 Table 2.4, https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/datasets/populationoftheunitedkingdombycountryofbirthandnationality
Note that data from this source below UK, EU and non-EU level should be treated with caution and not be compared with previous years due to the introduction of a new weighting methodology to reflect the change in survey operations during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. These statistics were discontinued in October 2022
3 Table TS005, https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/sources/census_2021_ts
Asked by: Lord Kilclooney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the provisions of the Common Travel Area, whether Irish residents in Great Britain can (1) benefit from the NHS, and (2) join the UK armed forces without taking an Oath of Allegiance; and whether UK residents in the Republic of Ireland can (3) benefit from its health service, and (4) join the Irish armed forces without taking an Oath of Allegiance.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
As part of the Common Travel (CTA) arrangements, Irish citizens in the UK continue to have access to their CTA rights, including access to healthcare.
Irish citizens who join the UK Armed Forces are not required to swear an Oath of Allegiance to the Sovereign but must make an affirmation to the same effect. This requirement to swear an Oath or make an affirmation applies to all individuals who are eligible to serve in the UK Armed Forces.
Whether UK residents in Ireland can benefit from its health service or join Irish Armed Forces without taking an Oath of Allegiance is a matter for the Irish government.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with the government of Ireland concerning the number of illegal migrants who have travelled via ferry from France to Dublin, and then travelled by bus to Northern Ireland followed by travel by ferry to Great Britain; and in any such discussions, whether the number of migrants taking this route in each of the last two years was confirmed and, if so, what is this number.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
There is a high level of cooperation on border security between both the UK and Irish Governments to ensure we are taking all the necessary measures to protect and secure the Common Travel Area (CTA).
As now, there will be no routine immigration controls on CTA journeys and none whatsoever on the land border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
However, intelligence-led operations to target potential abuse of CTA routes continues. Anyone identified attempting to circumvent UK border controls is liable to be removed, if they are not lawfully present in the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to prevent migrants coming to the UK illegally by travelling from the Republic of Ireland and then to mainland Great Britain.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
There is a high level of cooperation on border security between both the UK and Irish Governments to ensure we are taking all the necessary measures to protect and secure the Common Travel Area (CTA).
As now, there will be no routine immigration controls on CTA journeys and none whatsoever on the land border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
However, intelligence-led operations to target potential abuse of CTA routes continues. Anyone identified attempting to circumvent UK border controls is liable to be removed, if they are not lawfully present in the UK.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his statement on the economic update on the 26 May 2022 and his commitment to legislate to deliver support on the same terms in every part of the UK, whether it is his policy that people with the same circumstances will receive the same level of support regardless of where they live.
Answered by Simon Clarke
Most of the support announced by the Chancellor on 26 May is being provided directly to households in all parts of the UK by the UK Government.
The one-off Cost of Living payments will be paid directly to households across the UK. In the absence of a functioning Executive in Northern Ireland, the UK Government is supporting the Northern Irish people through these payments, on exactly the same terms as the rest of the UK.
The Energy Bill Support Scheme applies to Great Britain only, but equivalent support will be provided to people in Northern Ireland, and the Household Support Fund is England-only, but the devolved administrations will receive around £79 million through the Barnett formula.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to amend the British Sign Language Bill to extend its provisions to Northern Ireland; and if they have no such plans, whether they intend to introduce a British sign language law in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott - Opposition Whip (Lords)
The Government is committed to supporting all people with a disability, including deaf people, to lead fulfilled, independent lives. For D/deaf people, we recognise that this should include the ability to communicate with others through British Sign Language (BSL) or other forms of deaf communication.
The Minister for Disabled People has been working closely with Rosie Cooper MP to support the aims and development of her Private Members Bill to promote BSL. The Bill does not extend to Northern Ireland, in recognition of the existence of both British and Irish Sign Language among the Northern Irish D/deaf community. The Northern Ireland Executive proposes to take forward its own bill recognising both of these languages.
This decision also reflects the territorial scope of the Equality Act 2010, which is limited to Great Britain.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with political parties in Northern Ireland on measures to deal with the past and its legacy in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Caine - Shadow Minister (Northern Ireland)
Since the Government published the Command Paper, ‘Addressing the Legacy of Northern Ireland’s Past’, in July 2021, we have engaged with interested parties, groups and individuals across Northern Ireland, Great Britain and Ireland on our proposals. This includes the Northern Ireland parties, representatives from the victims sector, veterans, individuals and organisations from across civil society and the Irish Government.
We have heard many different views through this engagement, including how the proposals might be changed, amended or improved. This has been extremely valuable, and the perspectives we have heard will help inform our next steps, which we are considering carefully.
Asked by: Lord Green of Deddington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 24 January (HL5259), what immigration controls will be put in place under the proposed ETA system at (1) sea crossings between the Republic of Ireland and the UK and (2) sea crossings between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The Common Travel Area (CTA) supports the long-standing principle of movement for British and Irish citizens between the UK, Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man and Ireland.
As now, the UK will not operate routine immigration controls on journeys from within the CTA. There are no border controls for travel within the UK including from Northern Ireland to Great Britain.
Asked by: Lord Kilclooney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what has been the percentage change since (1) the UK withdrawal from the EU on 31 January 2020, and (2) the application of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, in trade between Northern Ireland and (a) Great Britain and (b) the Republic of Ireland.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain is not considered international trade and is, therefore, not captured in our official trade statistics.
As set out in the July 2021 Command Paper, the UK is clear that significant trade diversion is occurring and the thresholds for A16 safeguards have been met.
The percentage change in trade value since the UK withdrawal from the EU on 31 January 2020 and the current application of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland is devised using the Irish Government's Central Statistics Office (CSO) at the following link: https://www.cso.ie/en/statistics/externaltrade/goodsexportsandimports/.
According to the CSO, compared to the similar period from 2018 (February 2018 to October 2019), Irish exports and imports with Northern Ireland have increased by 18 per cent and 38 per cent respectively, since the UK withdrawal from the EU (February 2020 to October 2021).
According to the CSO, compared to the similar period from 2018 (January 2018 to October 2018), Irish exports and imports with Northern Ireland have increased by 44 per cent and 89 per cent respectively, since the application of the Protocol.