Madam, - It is heartening to read of plans to re-integrate the Border region ("North, South 'twin city' planned", The Irish Times, January 18th) but it is difficult to see how this can be achieved without a common north-south immigration policy. Currently there are many tens of thousands of residents of this island, north and south, who would not be legally entitled to cross the street in the planned Dundalk-Newry "twin city". Those resident in the Republic would need a UK tourist visa to go north and visa-versa for those resident in the North. The Garda and the PSNI treat this problem seriously, if inconsistently, as people are frequently detained for attempting to cross illegally.
This is not a unique problem. There are many dozens of cities in mainland Europe whose suburbs and satellite towns stretch into neighbouring states. The solution is the Schengen treaty, to which almost all EU countries are members - an arrangement where states mutually recognise each other's visas for short visits. Unfortunately, Ireland and the UK opted out of Schengen. One wonders if the Garda and the PSNI will simply ignore the problem, or will they be forced to expend resources in preventing certain Irish residents from crossing the street? - Yours, etc,
MARK SUGRUE, Drumcondra, Dublin 9.