JULIEN BLANC, THE controversial ‘pick-up artist’ who has this afternoon been barred from entering the UK could also be banned from entering Ireland, the Department of Justice confirmed.

While they refuse to comment on individual cases, a spokesperson confirmed that the Minister for Justice is able refuse entry to the country in the interest of “the public good”.

Ireland also shares a Common Travel Area with the UK, and it’s understood that this could have a bearing on the Minister’s decision, if it was thought that an individual might attempt to enter the UK through Ireland.

Julien Blanc became notorious when a video of him detailing his strategy for picking up women in Japan went viral. In the video – since deleted – Blanc described grabbing a woman’s head and pushing it towards his crotch.

He is currently on a world tour, giving “bootcamp” seminars on how to pick up women in various cities.

However, an online campaign asking the UK Home Office to deny him a visa amassed more than 150,000 signatures. Several prominent politicians also voiced their support for the campaign.

BBC News reports this afternoon that Blanc has been denied a visa by the UK Home Office, and quotes crime prevention minister Lynne Featherstone as saying she was “delighted Mr Blanc won’t be coming to our shores”.

However, tickets for Blanc’s tour dates in Dublin – where a “bootcamp” event is scheduled from June 4-6 2015, at a cost of $2000 per person – are still on sale.

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A petition to deny Blanc an Irish visa, which yesterday had only around 400 signatures, has today amassed close to 5,000.

When contacted by DailyEdge.ie, the Department refused to comment on individual cases but drew attention to existing legislation that states:

…the Minister for Justice and Equality may “if he or she considers it necessary in the interst of national security, by order exclude any non-national specified in the order from the State. (Section 4, Immigration Act, 1999)

…an immigration officer may, on behalf of the Minister, refuse to give a permission to enter the State to a person who is subject to “a determination by the Minister that it is conducive to the public good that he or she remains outside the State. (Section 4(3)(f)(iii) Immigration Act, 2004)

Blanc also courted controversy in recent weeks when he retweeted a photo from a domestic violence charity, captioning it “#HowToMakeHerStay”.

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Asked about the implications of someone like Blanc visiting Ireland, Margaret Martin, director of Women’s Aid, told DailyEdge.ie: “Abusive men use a wide range of manipulative tactics in order to gain and maintain power and control over their partners. These tactics are insidious and very hard to identify by the women on the receiving end.”

While declining to comment on any individual case, she added:

Quite often it is only when the woman is free from abuse that she is able to look back and see a complex picture of coercive control emerge.

Blanc appeared on CNN this week to make an apology of sorts, saying “I feel like I’m the most hated man in the world.”

More: People are campaigning to ban this pick-up artist from the UK – but he’s coming to Ireland next year>