Member's statement: Electronic Travel Authorisation Scheme
Member's statement by Ms Emma Sheerin on .
- MLA
- Ms Emma Sheerin
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 31 March 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Electronic Travel Authorisation Scheme
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4871495
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I rise this afternoon to highlight the electronic travel authorisation (ETA) scheme, which the British Government have been implementing since the beginning of the year, ahead of its scope being broadened on 2 April, when European visitors will be required to submit an ETA application before coming North. Since 8 January, all non-European international visitors have had to apply for an ETA before they can cross the border. I have already had constituents come to me with increasing anxiety about that. B&Bs and self-catering accommodation outlets that are normally, at this stage of the year, fully booked for the summer are seeing a massive decrease in numbers, and their owners are very concerned about the impact that the scheme will have. We know that there is already a disparity between our tourism and hospitality sectors North and South, and the scheme is set to cause more chaos for our Northern outlets. Added to the worry that our businesses feel is the fact that the price is increasing from £10 to £16 on 9 April. It just feels like there is an onslaught on our tourism operators across the Six Counties. Regardless of anyone's political affiliation or feelings about it, the reality is that, worldwide, people do not understand the intricacies of the British border in Ireland.
The vast majority of international visitors see Ireland as one country and want to visit Antrim as much as they do Galway or Donegal. The pubs in mid-Ulster are every bit as good as those in Galway. The beaches on the north coast are every bit as nice as those further south. We want to encourage the businesses that have suffered for so long and are only beginning to flourish to continue to do so. We know that 67% of those who visit Northern destinations for tourism reasons do so via the border because the vast majority of our international ports, airports and docks are located in the Twenty-six Counties, but there is great hesitancy from people when they are faced with that bureaucracy in order to come North. We want to encourage our tourism sector and support the industry. I add my voice to those of Dr Joanne Stuart and others representing the industry in calling for the British Government to stop using the scheme and rethink the damage that they are doing.
390 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.08 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.89).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Constitutional question, Brexit, the Windsor Framework and sovereignty.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.07 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.03 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.03 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.05 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.89 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.08 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Constitutional question, Brexit, the Windsor Framework and sovereignty | 0.42 |
| Immigration, asylum, race, ethnicity and Travellers | 0.30 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.28 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:15 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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