DUP chief praises 100 years of free movement of citizens between Ireland and UK

The CTA entered force on December 6, 1922, one year after the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty when ended the Irish independence war (and established partition in the process).

Ireland became officially known as the Free State, which was nominally under UK dominion whilst having its own parliament.

The CTA survived the subsequent establishment of the Irish Republic, and the UK’s exit from the EU.

Here is how the UK government describes it today: “Irish nationals have a special status in UK law which is separate to and pre-dates the rights they have as EU citizens.

"In short, the Republic of Ireland is not considered to be a ‘foreign country’ for the purpose of UK laws, and Irish citizens are not considered to be ‘aliens’.

"Furthermore, Irish citizens are treated as if they have permanent immigration permission to remain in the UK from the date they take up ‘ordinary residence’ here.”

In other words, Irish citizens can freely live, work, and even vote in the UK.

And if you are a UK citizen living in Ireland, the same applies.

In a statement today, Sir Jeffrey said the CTA “is so ingrained as part of life across these islands that we can sometimes overlook its significance”.

"The Common Travel Area was a sensible and practical arrangement established between the United Kingdom and the then newly formed Irish Free State,” he said.

"It has worked to the benefit of both countries over the past 100 years and enjoys the support of people in both jurisdictions.

"This stands in stark contrast to the Northern Ireland Protocol which has not only failed in its objectives but also does not enjoy support across the community in Northern Ireland…

"On this centenary we should return to the positive and practical principles demonstrated by the Common Travel Area and seek to emulate them in finding a solution to the Protocol.”

Explaining why the CTA was necessary back in 1949, Labour’s Clement Attlee said: “As everybody knows, there are in Britain large numbers of people of Irish descent, some born in Eire and some born in this country, and there is a continual passage to and fro of people who come over to work or to study or for pleasure.

"It would be an extremely difficult thing to decide in every case from day to day as to what the exact status was of a person with an Irish name, and if we had to attempt to make all citizens of Eire aliens, it would have involved a great expenditure of men and money.”

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