Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan has confirmed the signing of a contract for the supply and installation of automatic border control ‘e-Gates’ at the State’s ports of entry.

Lisbon-based Vision-Box is partnering with Accenture and ESP Global Systems on the project that will see at least 20 e-gates installed at Dublin Airport before the end of this year in the first phase.

Irish and other EU travellers over 18 years with e-readable passports, as well as holders of the Irish Passport Card, may use the e-gates – which use facial recognition technology integrated with international watch lists.

They are also intended to speed up increasing delays at border control that have caused much dismay among passengers.

“I believe that we’ve found a solution that matches our goals and requirements,” said Minister Flanagan on the contract.

Following this first phase, the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) will examine the scope for extending their use to non–EU passport holders, to allow easier entry for regular visitors such as business travellers.

Minister Flanagan added: “This project is part of that wider strategy by INIS, which includes the introduction of systems such as, Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Recognition (PNR). 

“It will also include automated checking of Interpol’s Lost and Stolen Travel Document databases.”