Ireland looking to send asylum seekers back to UK

DUBLIN

Ireland is looking to amend the law to allow the return of asylum seekers to the United Kingdom, broadcaster RTE said yesterday after an influx over the border with Northern Ireland.

Dublin's Minister of Justice Helen McEntee, who visits London today, told a parliamentary committee this week that she estimates 80 percent of those applying for asylum in the republic came over the land border with Northern Ireland, which is part of the U.K.

U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Sky News it was evidence that London's plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda is acting as a deterrent.

"What it shows, I think, is that the deterrent is... already having an impact because people are worried about coming here," he said.

In response, a spokesperson for Ireland's Prime Minister Simon Harris said the leader "does not comment on the migration policies of any other country but he is very clear about the importance of protecting the integrity of the migration system in Ireland," RTE reported.

"Ireland has a rules-based system that must always be applied firmly and fairly.”

The spokesperson added that the Irish PM had asked his justice minister "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 U.K."

McEntee is expected to discuss a new returns policy when she meets U.K. Interior Minister James Cleverly in London today.