Customs Act 2015 section 42

Controls of cash entering or leaving European Union through the State

Section 42 sets out the rules requiring anyone entering or leaving the European Union through Ireland with cash of €10,000 or more to declare it to the Revenue Commissioners, and the powers of customs officers to enforce those rules.

• Any person entering or leaving the EU through Ireland carrying cash of €10,000 or more must make a written declaration to the Revenue Commissioners in a prescribed form.
• Customs officers may question travellers, search their baggage and means of transport, and — where there are reasonable grounds for suspicion — search the person themselves to check compliance with the declaration requirement.
• Customs officers may seize and detain undeclared cash of €10,000 or more, and that cash may continue to be held until any resulting prosecution is finally determined.
• Failure to make a correct and complete declaration is a criminal offence carrying a fine of up to €5,000 on summary conviction.