Minister must prioritise bilateral agreement with Britain on migrant returns – Carthy

Minister Jim O’Callaghan insisted said he already was prioritising the need to secure a bilateral agreement on migrant returns with Britain when challenged by a Sinn Féin TD in the Dáil.

Sinn Féin spokesperson on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Matt Carthy TD, argued that the EU Migration and Asylum Pact is not fit for Ireland’s needs given the challenges of the Common Travel Area.

Speaking in the Dáil, Deputy Carthy said: “The Minister has stated publicly on a number of occasions that a significant proportion - in fact, the vast majority - of those seeking international protection in this state are coming from Britain via the common travel area.

“It seems logical to most people that we need a bilateral agreement with Britain to ensure those international protection applicants who should be processed in Britain are returned there in a timely manner.

“This week the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, in its pre-legislative scrutiny report on the International Protection Bill, asked that consideration be again given to opting out of the EU Migration and Asylum Pact because that pact does not take cognisance of the fact we operate within a common travel area. Ireland is in the unique position of being an EU member state that also has a common travel area with a state outside of the EU.

“It is becoming increasingly clear that the pact fails to take account of Ireland's unique challenges. I am concerned at the lack of priority that the minister is giving to what is a Programme for Government commitment to prioritise working with the British Government to introduce further measures in respect of the common travel area. No progress has been made."

The minister noted the impact of Brexit on making the matter more complex and said:

"We do not have an operationalised system of returns between Ireland and the UK at present," he said and noted talks were ongoing with the British Home Office.

"I will be talking to the home secretary again the week after next I've had very good engagement with the previous home secretary and I assume I will have the good same engagement with the current home secretary but I have to point out to you deputy the political reality is that the United Kingdom are not going to enter into an agreement with Ireland whereby they simply take back individuals who've applied for asylum in Ireland because they have originated in the UK - you can see what's happening in France, but I agree with you there has to be greater engagement with the UK and I'm in the process of doing that.

Deputy Carthy suggested that a united Ireland would simplify the issue.

“The minister should also acknowledge that managing migration would be much easier if we were doing it on an all-Ireland basis within a unitary state framework and that, therefore, we should try to advance the reunification of our country for that and many other reasons.

“In 2020, Ireland and Britain agreed informal, non-legally binding operational arrangements to return asylum seekers to each other. Very little has been achieved as a result of this informal arrangement. Now it is time to secure a bilateral agreement on returns. This is where the minister’s focus should be rather than on the EU Migration and Asylum Pact.

“If the figures are anywhere close to those that government have cited, then it would be negligent of the minister to fail to prioritise the securing a bilateral agreement with Britain on migrant returns.”

The Minister brought the discussion to a conclusion insisting he was prioritising it.

"This is at the top of my list in fact I'm criticized for trying to deal with issues in respect of international protection and given too much priority to it, but it is an absolutely essential issue."

He noted the inference that most 87% are arriving across the border because they are presenting at the IPO office and not the airport.

"We believe strongly persuasive those individuals who apply for asylum at the IPO office are coming south over the border."

He added there "are many people going" in the other direction too. "When I'm speaking to the home secretary she will be saying to me she has great concern about people flying into Dublin airport and coming into Britain through Northern Ireland."