The Irish Prime Minister is steadfast in his expectation that the UK government will uphold a 2020 agreement to permit the repatriation of asylum seekers journeying from the UK to Ireland. This viewpoint signifies a firmer stance from Ireland regarding this matter, with Simon Harris expressing confidence that the pact with the UK would be preserved, in spite of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s resistance.
Harris remarked, “we hold a valid expectation that agreements between two nations are upheld,” whilst arriving for a Cabinet meeting at the Government Buildings. His perspective was influenced by comments from Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Secretary of State, who emphasised the significance of collaboration within the Common Travel Area. These remarks overshadow those made by Sunak, who had declared the UK’s refusal to accept returnees who had submitted unacceptable applications in Dublin, a part of pre-election tactics.
The emergency legislation presented before the Cabinet, Harris explained, would merely provide statutory validity to a pact with the UK that had been operational since 2020. He added that the understanding between Ireland and Britain already exists and what they’re bringing in is legal transparency in relation to that agreement, enabling the UK to regain its safe country status.
Harris stressed the reciprocal nature of this understanding, enabling the mutual deportation of refugees should their application be deemed unacceptable. Regarding the claim by the Justice Minister, Helen McEntee, that around 80% of international protection applicants were crossing from Northern Ireland, Harris confirmed the statistic, but also acknowledged the challenge of quantifying daily border crossings.
The International Protection Office (IPO) employees have brought it to the Minister’s attention, based on their experience, that there is an upward trend of over 80% in their sector. Any sensible government would undoubtedly take such information under advisement. This statement by the Minister set him seemingly at odds with Tánaiste Micheál Martin who denies such figures are grounded in any factual data.
The Government’s focus will pivot from the processing of asylum applications to deterrence and deportation measures. This will involve the reassignment of 100 An Garda Síochána officers to key frontline duties, which will include Border-based tasks.
Justice Minister, Helen McEntee, plans to disclose the latest steps aimed at stopping individuals from exploiting the Common Travel Area between the UK and Ireland to enter the State and lodge asylum claims during the Tuesday morning Cabinet meeting. She will also provide an update on operations run by An Garda Síochána, who work in close partnership with the PSNI.
Last month it was divulged that her department would take over the immigration-registration duty from the gardaí, freeing a further 100 gardaí for frontline enforcement tasks such as deportations.
A leak from a government source divulged UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s comments from Monday regarding the UK’s refusal to repatriate international protection applicants from Ireland until France consented to the repatriation of asylum seekers who unlawfully entered the UK from Calais. This position is expected to shift the Cabinet’s attention towards further measures of prevention, despite anticipated difficulties in enforcing policies to secure an open border.
Ms McEntee emphasised that the scheme to reassign the UK as a safe nation to return asylum seekers was aimed at sealing any potential loopholes in addition to executing a current agreement with the UK. She acknowledged upon entering the Cabinet that no asylum seekers had been deported back to Britain for some years, largely due to the repercussions of Brexit. In her words, this hasn’t been feasible in recent times due to Brexit, the Covid lockdown and more recently, the High Court ruling in March deeming the UK an unsafe origin country due to its Rwanda policy.
“This legislative effort is indeed a response to the decisions made by the High Court, aimed at sealing any present loopholes,” she commented on RTÉ radio. “The return of individuals to the UK remains imperative, despite an established agreement. We have established collaborations with the UK which I anticipate will continue unchanged.
The introduction of this rule is one amongst several steps I have been undertaking to ensure our immigration system is both stringent and just,” she added.
In the near future, she is eager to meet with her UK equivalent, Home Secretary James Cleverly. Earlier this week, Mr Cleverly had called off a meeting with her, leading her to also cancel her planned trip to London for meetings.
The reassignment of Garda staff might escalate Operation Sonnet. This initiative, operated jointly with British authorities, aims to prevent illegal movement within the Common Travel Area that encompasses Ireland and Britain.
The longstanding understanding between the Irish and the British governments, seeks to supervise the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
An official from the government stated that Operation Sonnet remains active. However, their operations have not been publicly declared since 2018.
Former justice minister Charlie Flanagan revealed to the Seanad in early 2018 that between 2015 and 2017, Garda checks carried out under Operation Sonnet resulted in 774 individuals being denied entry into the State.
The Garda managed mobile immigration patrols, conducting inspections to ensure no unauthorized border crossings.
This operation, referred to by the British as Operation Gulf, faced critique from refugee assistants on the grounds of alleged racial profiling in some cases to identify illegal border crossings between Northern Ireland and the State.
In response to queries about border immigration checks into the Republic, the Garda confirmed that these checks are regularly conducted, “amounting to as many as 300 checks monthly, depending on the situation.”
Depending on the situations, inspections can either be impromptu or scheduled. Road policing units conduct these checks at specific points to ensure vehicles are stopped safely. Moreover, these inspections are also carried out on the railway line passing through Co Louth, with Dundalk being the primary entry point into this jurisdiction from Northern Ireland.
The Cross Border Joint Action Task Force is committed to collaboratively identifying and tracking unauthorised migration, as expressed by the Garda. The primary aim of this force, headed by experienced Garda and PSNI officers, is to counteract organised crime across the border.