§ Mr. Trotterasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to remove from citizens of the Irish Republic their special rights to enter this country without a passport or other papers and to vote in elections in this country.
§ Mr. Roy JenkinsCitizens of the Republic of Ireland who arrive in the United Kingdom from outside the common travel area consisting of the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and the Republic are under the same obligation as other passengers to produce passports or other identity documents when required to do so, but the Immigration Act 1971 provides that arrival on a local journey from another part of the common travel area is not subject to immigration control, apart from certain exceptions set out in Section 9(4). I have no proposals at present for altering these arrangements or for changing the voting rights of citizens of the Republic resident here.