Rwanda Plan: Irish Government Wants To Send Asylum Seekers Back To UK

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The Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Simon Harris has asked Ireland's justice minister to bring legislation to cabinet to enable asylum seekers to be sent back to the UK.

Helen McEntee has revealed that 80% of recent arrivals to the Republic came from the UK across the Irish border.

Tánaiste (deputy prime minister) Micheál Martin said the UK's Rwanda policy was already impacting Ireland.

Legislation to revive the UK's Rwanda policy became law on Thursday.

It aims to deter people from crossing the English Channel by sending some asylum seekers to the central African country.

No migrants have yet been sent from the UK.

The UK government had hoped for flights to take off by the spring but Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says this should now happen within 10 to 12 weeks.

A spokesman for Mr Harris said the taoiseach had asked Ms McEntee "to bring proposals to cabinet next week to amend existing law regarding the designation of safe 'third countries' and allowing the return of inadmissible international protection applicants to the UK", Irish broadcaster RTÉ reported on Saturday.

Speaking on RTÉ's Six One News, Ms McEntee said: "There are many reasons why we have seen an increase in migration toward Ireland.

"What's clear in the decision that the UK have taken in choosing Brexit, they have actually seen an increase in people seeking asylum in their country. The way that they deal with that, it's their policy.

"My focus as minister for justice is making sure that we have an effective immigration structure and system.

"That's why I'm introducing fast processing. That's why I'll have emergency legislation at cabinet this week to make sure that we can effectively return people to the UK and that's why I'll be meeting with the home secretary [James Cleverly] to raise these issues on Monday."

A spokesman for the Irish Department of Justice told BBC News NI that "the issue of irregular movement within the CTA" - the Common Travel Area between Britain and Ireland - would be discussed at the ministers' meeting.

Earlier in the week, Ms McEntee told a committee of the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament) there had been a rise in the number of people crossing the land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, with this now making up 80% of the total number of asylum seekers.

In response to her comments, Mr Martin said the UK government's Rwanda policy meant people were "fearful" of staying in the UK and were crossing the border to the Republic so they would not be sent to Rwanda. Mr Martin, who also serves as Ireland's foreign minister, has spoken of his opposition to the policy.

On Sky News on Sunday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was asked whether Mr Martin's comments showed the UK was "exporting the problem".


Mr Sunak replied: "The deterrent is - according to your comment - already having an impact, because people are worried about coming here and that demonstrates exactly what I'm saying: if people come to our country illegally, but know that they won't be able to stay, they're much less likely to come."

It comes as Home Office figures showed some 500 migrants had crossed the English Channel over two days - with 141 people arriving on Friday and 359 on Saturday.

Rwanda plan: Irish government wants to send asylum seekers back to UK

Taoiseach asks justice minister to bring forward legislation so asylum seekers can be returned to the UK.

www.bbc.com

UK will 'not take back asylum seekers from Ireland until France takes back Channel migrants'​

The UK will not take back asylum seekers who cross the border into Ireland "until the EU accepts that we can send them back to France", according to a government source.

The comment comes amid an escalating row between Dublin and Westminster over the Irish government's plans for new legislation to enable asylum seekers who cross the border from Northern Ireland to be sent back to the UK.

Ireland's deputy prime minister and foreign secretary Micheal Martin said the threat of deportation to Rwanda was causing "fearful" migrants to head for Ireland instead of the UK.

As the row deepened on Sunday night, Irish prime minister Simon Harris vowed the country would "not provide a loophole for anybody else's migration challenges".





He also said that "close" collaboration and cooperation between the British and Irish governments was "not just desirable, but absolutely essential".

However, a UK government source said any bid to return asylum seekers from Ireland would be rejected unless France agreed to do the same with boats crossing the Channel.

"We won't accept any asylum returns from the EU via Ireland until the EU accepts that we can send them back to France," the source said.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Sky News on Sunday that the UK's Rwanda scheme was already working as a deterrent.

He also said the comments from Irish politicians showed that illegal migration was a "global challenge".

"[That] is why you're seeing multiple countries talk about doing third country partnerships, looking at novel ways to solve this problem, and I believe [they] will follow where the UK has led," he said.

Mr Harris, who took over as taoiseach in April, is already facing pressure from voters to tackle migration in Ireland - which has seen anti-immigrant protests in recent months.

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UK will 'not take back asylum seekers from Ireland until France takes back Channel migrants'

Ireland's government is pledging emergency legislation to send asylum seekers that cross into the country from Northern Ireland back to the UK in the wake of the Rwanda bill.

news.sky.com