Next (SCHEDULE Agreement between Ireland and the United States of America on Preinspection)

18 1986

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Number 18 of 1986


AIR NAVIGATION AND TRANSPORT (PREINSPECTION) ACT, 1986


ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

Section

1.

Interpretation.

2.

Competent authority.

3.

Agreements with air carriers.

4.

Charges for preinspection.

5.

Persons assigned to carry out duties at preinspection facility.

6.

Immunities and privileges for persons carrying out duties at preinspection facility.

7.

Provisions relating to aliens control.

8.

Amendment of Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1950.

9.

Costs and expenses.

10.

Short title, collective citation and construction.

SCHEDULE


Acts Referred to

Air Navigation and Transport Act. 1950

1950, No. 4

Aliens Act, 1935

1935, No. 14

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Number 18 of 1986


AIR NAVIGATION AND TRANSPORT (PREINSPECTION) ACT, 1986


AN ACT TO MAKE PROVISION WITH RESPECT TO THE IMPLEMENTATION BY THE GOVERNMENT OF AN AGREEMENT WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA RELATING TO THE PREINSPECTION IN THE STATE OF PERSONS TRAVELLING BY AIR TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; TO AMEND THE AIR NAVIGATION AND TRANSPORT ACT, 1950; AND TO PROVIDE FOR OTHER MATTERS CONNECTED WITH THE FOREGOING. [19th June, 1986]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

Interpretation.

1. —In this Act—

the Agreement” means the Agreement which is set out in the Schedule to this Act, and which is to be made between the Government and the government of the United States, and which relates to the preinspection in the State of persons (including aircrew) travelling by air to the United States, and references in this Act to “the Agreement” shall include a reference to the Agreement when made;

the competent authority” means, as the context may require, the Minister or any person appointed by him by order under section 2 of this Act;

Immigration and Naturalization Service” means the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the government of the United States;

the Minister” means the Minister for Communications;

preinspection” means a procedure whereby the Immigration and Naturalization Service carries out, in the State, the inspection, which is required under the laws of the United States relating to immigration and public health for entry into the United States, of persons (including aircrew) travelling thereto by air;

preinspection facility” means a facility provided at an airport in the State where preinspection may be carried out in accordance with the Agreement;

United States” means the United States of America.

Competent authority.

2. —(1) The Minister shall be the competent authority in the State for the purposes of the Agreement.

(2) The Minister may by order appoint such person as seems to him to be appropriate to carry out such of his functions as competent authority as may be specified in the order.

(3) The Minister may by order amend or revoke an order under this section (including this subsection).

(4) Every order made under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the order is passed by either House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the order has been laid before it, the order shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to anything previously done thereunder.

Agreements with air carriers.

3. —(1) The competent authority may enter into such agreements as may be necessary with any eligible air carrier who wishes to avail of preinspection.

(2) An agreement entered into pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall specify the terms and conditions under which preinspection will be carried out.

(3) In this section “eligible air carrier” means any air carrier, whether scheduled or charter, who operates an air travel service which involves travelling non-stop between the State and the United States whether the air service originates in the State or elsewhere.

Charges for preinspection.

4. —(1) The Minister may, by regulations, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, prescribe fees in relation to the preinspection of passengers and aircrew.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, regulations under this section may make provision for all or any of the following matters:

(a) the persons by whom the fees are to be paid;

(b) the manner in which the fees are to be paid;

(c) the manner in which any fees paid under the regulations are to be disposed of;

(d) any other matters relating to the payment, collection, or disposal of fees as may seem to the Minister to be appropriate or necessary.

(3) The competent authority may recover any fees payable pursuant to regulations under this section from the person by whom such fees are payable as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

(4) Regulations made under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after they are made and, if a resolution annulling the regulations is passed by either House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the regulations have been laid before it, the regulations shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

Persons assigned to carry out duties at preinspection facility.

5. —It shall be lawful for a citizen of the United States, who is a permanent employee of the government of the United States and is assigned to carry out duties at a preinspection facility, to carry out pursuant to the Agreement all or any of the following duties that is to say—

(a) to take and process applications for entry into the United States;

(b) to ask for the production of travel documents and to examine such documents when produced;

(c) to ask questions relating to the eligibility of the person concerned to enter the United States;

(d) to ask for the production of documents supporting the application for permission to enter the United States and to examine such documents when produced;

(e) to request permission to search a person and to carry out a search in accordance with the permission;

(f) to defer the granting of permission to a person to enter the United States until such person has undergone a further inspection on arrival in that country;

(g) to refuse permission in accordance with the Agreement for onward passage to a person who is found to be ineligible for entry into the United States;

(h) to provide all necessary documents and information to the immigration authorities of the State regarding the refusal of permission to any person to enter the United States and to provide such authorities with the reasons for such refusal.

Immunities and privileges for persons carrying out duties at preinspection facility.

6. —(1) A citizen of the United States, who is a permanent employee of the government of the United States and is assigned to carry out duties at a preinspection facility, shall not be amenable to the jurisdiction of the judicial or administrative authorities of the State in respect of acts performed by him in the exercise of his duties under the Agreement.

(2) The duties referred to in subsection (1) of this section are—

(a) to take and process applications for entry into the United States;

(b) to ask for the production of travel documents and to examine such documents when produced;

(c) to ask questions relating to the eligibility of the person concerned to enter the United States;

(d) to ask for the production of documents supporting the application for permission to enter the United States and to examine such documents when produced;

(e) to request permission to search a person and to carry out a search in accordance with the permission;

(f) to defer the granting of permission to a person to enter the United States until such person has undergone a further inspection on arrival in that country;

(g) to refuse permission in accordance with the Agreement for onward passage to a person who is found to be ineligible for entry into the United States;

(h) to provide all necessary documents and information to the immigration authorities of the State regarding the refusal of permission to any person to enter the United States and to provide such authorities with the reasons for such refusal.

(3) The immunity granted to employees of the government of the United States pursuant to subsection (1) of this section may be waived by that government.

(4) The State shall take all appropriate steps to protect the security of a preinspection facility against intrusion or damage and to protect the official archives or documents maintained by the Immigration and Naturalization Service at such facility.

(5) A citizen of the United States, who is a permanent employee of the government of the United States and who is assigned to carry out duties under the Agreement at a preinspection facility, shall enjoy such privileges as may be agreed between the Government and the government of the United States by an exchange of notes.

Provisions relating to aliens control.

7. —(1) Any person who, having arrived in transit at an airport in the State, presents himself at a preinspection facility, shall not, for the purposes of the Aliens Act, 1935 , and the European Communities (Aliens) Orders, 1977 to 1985, be deemed to have arrived in the State.

(2) Any person who, having arrived in transit at an airport in the State, has presented himself at a preinspection facility for preinspection and is, in accordance with the terms of the Agreement, refused permission by the Immigration and Naturalization Service to travel onwards to the United States shall be deemed, for the purposes of the Aliens Act, 1935 , and the European Communities (Aliens) Orders, 1977 to 1985, to have arrived in the State.

Amendment of Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1950.

8. —The Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1950, is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution in section 19 (3) for “five pounds” of “two hundred and fifty pounds”, and

(b) the substitution in section 21 for “twenty pounds” of “one thousand pounds”,

and the said sections, as so amended, are set out in the Table to this section.

TABLE

(3) If any person—

(a) on being required by an authorised officer acting under this section to give his name and address, refuses to give his name or address or gives a false or fictitious name or address, or

(b) on being required by an authorised officer acting under this section to leave a State aerodrome, refuses or fails to leave it, or

(c) having left a State aerodrome in pursuance of the requirement of an authorised officer acting under this section or having been removed from a State aerodrome under this section, returns thereto on the same day,

that person shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding two hundred and fifty pounds.

21.—If any person—

(a) obstructs or impedes an authorised officer in the lawful execution of his powers and duties as an authorised officer under section 19 or 20 of this Act, or

(b) assaults an authorised officer in the lawful execution of those powers and duties,

that person shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one thousand pounds or, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding six months.

Costs and expenses.

9. —(1) Any costs incurred—

(a) in the provision pursuant to the Agreement of a preinspection facility, or

(b) in the maintenance of such a preinspection facility,

may, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

(2) The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

Short title, collective citation and construction.

10. —(1) This Act may be cited as the Air Navigation and Transport (Preinspection) Act, 1986.

(2) The collective citation the “Air Navigation and Transport Acts, 1936 to 1986” shall include this Act.

(3) The Air Navigation and Transport Acts, 1936 to 1986, and this Act shall be construed together as one Act.