Rwanda plan: Irish government wants to send asylum seekers back to UK
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![Small boat crossing the English Channel](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/8B9F/production/_133234753_gettyimages-2149677534.jpg)
The Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Simon Harris has asked Irelandâs 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.
TĂĄnaiste (deputy prime minister) MicheĂĄl Martin said the UKâs Rwanda policy was already impacting Ireland.
Legislation to revive the UKâs 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 been sent yet 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 âto bring proposals to Cabinet next week to amend existing law regarding the designation of safe âthird countriesâ and allowing the return of inadmissible international protection applicants to the UKâ, Irish broadcaster RTĂ reported on Saturday.
Speaking on RTĂâs Six One News, Ms McEntee said: âThere are many reasons why we have seen an increase in migration toward Ireland.
âWhatâs 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, itâs their policy.
âMy focus as minister for justice is making sure that we have an effective immigration structure and system.
âThatâs why Iâm introducing fast processing. Thatâs why Iâll have emergency legislation at cabinet this week to make sure that we can effectively return people to the UK and thatâs why Iâll be meeting with the Home Secretary [James Cleverly] to raise these issues on Monday.â
A spokesman for the Irish Department of Justice told BBC News NI that âthe issue of irregular movement within the CTAâ â the Common Travel Area between Britain and Ireland â would be discussed at the ministersâ meeting.
âFearfulâ
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 governmentâs Rwanda policy meant people were âfearfulâ 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 Irelandâs foreign minister, has spoken of his opposition to the policy.
A No 10 spokesperson said it was âtoo early to jump to specific conclusions about the impact of the Act and treaty in terms of migrant behaviourâ following Mr Martinâs comments.
The Safety of Rwanda Act, which aims to avoid further legal challenges to the policy by declaring Rwanda a safe country, was approved by MPs and peers this week and passed into law on Thursday.
However, the plan could still be held up by court challenges.
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