The new measure promises to enhance security and speed up the immigration process.
Automatic border control ‘e-Gates’ will be fully operational at Dublin Airport from today (Thursday) onwards following a successful pilot programme run at the airport earlier this year.
20 e-Gates – ten in Terminal One and 10 in Terminal Two – will use a passport reader and camera to perform immigration checks.
The gates work by electronically checking the authenticity of biometric passports and checking that the holder’s facial features match those contained on the passport’s electronic chip.
To use the e-Gates, a person must have a ‘chipped’ biometric Irish (or Irish passport card), EU, EEA or Swiss passport. These e-Passports have the biometric logo on the front cover.
While an immigration officer will always monitor the operation of the e-Gates, a single immigration officer can monitor several e-Gates at the same time, facilitating a higher throughput of passengers and shorter queuing times.
Irish and other EU travellers over 18 years with e-Passports and holders of the Irish Passport Card may use the e-Gates initially, with the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) set to examine the scope for extending their use to non–EU passport holders in time.
Commenting on the impending introduction of e-Gates following the signing of the contract with Lisbon-based company Vision-Box back in August, the Minister for Justice and Equality, Charlie Flanagan TD, said: “Following a very thorough pilot programme and competitive tender, I believe that we’ve found a solution that matches our goals and requirements. We look forward to working with Vision-Box, through the award of this framework agreement.
“The introduction of e-Gates will greatly enhance our immigration controls, including our border security, while at the same time providing an improved passenger experience through self-service and speedier passage through the immigration process.”
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