BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVES have written to the Garda Commissioner to warn that delays at passport control booths at Dublin airport risk damaging the tourism industry.
Chambers Ireland said hour-long waits at immigration desks had caused crowd control problems, and claimed the problem could adversely affect Ireland’s hotel and restaurants, which depended on short-stay visitors.
“Airport immigration delays materially affect Irish competitiveness. If this problem continues, opportunistic weekend travel by consumers availing of short-haul special offers may well be curtailed and Ireland’s hotel, restaurant and other tourism sectors will be adversely affected,” Seán Murphy, spokesman for the group’s air transport users council, said.
In a letter to Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy, Mr Murphy said Chambers Ireland was “continually hearing of significant delays occurring at immigration control”, and in some cases these delays stretched beyond an hour.
It is understood that delays at passport control began more than six weeks ago as a result of a dispute involving officers from the Garda National Immigration Bureau stationed at the airport. The dispute centres on cuts to the expenses paid to officers.
Chambers also asked the commissioner why Irish and UK passport holders were not being segregated and fast-tracked through immigration control.
