Ireland to return the asylum seekers to the UK who entered through the Northern Ireland border by the end of May. On the other hand, the UK authorities do not want to take these people back.
Irish government will however need a law to be passed by the parliament for returning the asylum seekers to the UK. This indeed raises conflict between both countries on this issue.
Ireland has been unable to accommodate refugees and asylum seekers over the past few months. The situation escalated after the anti-migrants did a violent protest at the “Trudder House or River Lodge in the eastern town of Newtownmountkennedy” and this place has been earmarked to house asylum seekers. Ireland has also been unable to house the increasing number of asylum applicants and they are sleeping in tents on streets.
Irish Justice Minister Helen McEntee explained the emergency returns legislation would allow for faster processing of migrants, and her department was planning to make 100 additional police officers available for frontline enforcement work.
Ireland to return asylum seekers to the UK but why?
Ireland wants to return the asylum seekers to the UK as it fears more and more asylum seekers fleeing to it escaping the UK-Rwanda deportation deal.
Last week the Irish deputy prime minister Micheál Martin claimed that the number of asylum seekers fleeing to Ireland from the UK has gradually increased over the past week. These people are crossing the Ireland border to avoid deportation to Rwanda he further claimed reported by the Daily Telegraph.
Ireland does not want to be affected by the policies of neighbors regarding asylum seekers as the country can not handle the influx of increasing numbers of asylum seekers.
In Ireland, there has been an immense increase in the number of asylum applications submitted. According to the media reports, 6,700 applications for asylum have been submitted since January 2024 which is 90% more than last year for the same period.
The UK Rwanda deportation bill
The British parliament passed the Rwanda bill during a successful session on 22 April. According to this bill, the British government will be able to deport the asylum seekers to Rwanda.
In the second week of March, The Times reported that the UK was planning to offer 3,000 Pounds to migrants to move to Rwanda voluntarily. The beneficiaries of this scheme would be the rejected asylum seekers who cannot return to their country of origin.
Refugee agreement between the UK and Ireland
The UK and Ireland already signed an agreement in 2020 regarding the return of the asylum seekers reports Reuters. Ireland however could not benefit from the agreement amid COVID-19 travel restrictions and then the agreement also faced legal challenges.