Originally Posted by FrancisA

Of course the easiest arrangement for most people would have been for the UK and Ireland to join Schengen.

The fact that the UK wouldn't (for no more sensible reason than a xenophobic distrust of foreigners to operate immigration controls effectively) meant that Ireland couldn't join either. The reason being that if Ireland were in Schengen, it would need to implement full border controls with the UK (which would be unclean in immigration terms), including a formal frontier with Northern Ireland. Such a frontier dividing Ireland is unacceptable to most politicians in the Republic.

So here we are with another consequence of a UK immigration policy driven by the irrational fears of a largely ignorant public. Just think how much time and money the UK wastes on immigration checks with Schengen countries, which serve no real purpose.