Passenger data of people flying in and out of Ireland from the EU will be collected by the Government under a plan agreed at Cabinet. The changes concern the statutory framework for processing passenger name record (PNR) data by the Irish passenger information unit within the Department of Justice, Home Affairs, and Migration. The regulations require airlines to transfer PNR data for flights entering or leaving Ireland from non-EU countries to the Irish passenger information unit. The EU directive also provided the option for member states to extend the requirements to airlines in respect of “intra-EU flights” — flights operating within the EU. Mr O’Callaghan said that currently “PNR data only extends to those flying to and from Ireland from outside the EU”.

Source: Irish Examiner March 24, 2026 20:48 UTC