TUV MLA Timothy Gaston has called for routine checks on the Irish land border following the release of official figures showing that more than 15,000 people arrived at Dublin Airport without valid passports between 2020 and 2025.

The Irish Department of Justice confirmed that 15,413 individuals presented at the airport without appropriate travel documents over the five-year period. The trend persisted into 2026, with 894 undocumented arrivals recorded by the end of June, a rate comparable to the 2,297 recorded in 2024 and 2,067 in 2025.

The department said the majority of those refused leave to land subsequently indicated they wished to enter the international protection process. It also acknowledged that some passengers destroy their identity documents while in flight and that it had carried out intelligence-led aircraft inspections to detect the practice.

Gaston stated that the figures demonstrated a continuing trend and described the situation as an admission that the authorities know document abuse is taking place. He argued that the lack of routine checks on the land border meant immigration laws were not being properly enforced and that any border security strategy was inadequate if it did not address undocumented migrants moving freely from the Republic.

The Home Office said that as of December, there were 2,608 asylum seekers accommodated in Northern Ireland. It stated that these individuals were not dispersed from Great Britain and that only those who claim asylum in Northern Ireland are housed there.

An Irish Department of Justice spokesman said that establishing identity and nationality was an essential part of the immigration process. Those without documents are refused entry unless they seek international protection. The spokesman added that the EU Migration Pact, which introduces mandatory processing times for international protection applications, would apply to people who mislead authorities by destroying identity documents.