Civilian Passport control at Dublin a possibility

The Minister for Justice, Dermot Ahern told the Dail (Parliament) today that civilians may be used to man passport control at Dublin Airport. The service is presently operated by Gardai from the National Immigration Bureau who have been operating an apparent go slow since early January in a protest over the withdrawal of meal allowances. At present, a total of 142 officers are required to provide the service at Dublin Airport. Since January, delays of up to 2 hours have been experienced  by passengers arriving at the airport. The Minister said that he was looking at all options and that the resource of 142 Gardai could be better deployed elsewhere, a move that could be facilitated by the use of civilians under Gardai supervision.