Tánaiste Micheál Martin believes the UK’s Rwanda Bill is contributing to Ireland’s immigration predicament
AN TÁNAISTE Micheál Martin has said that the British government’s Rwanda Bill is causing a surge in migrants entering Ireland.
The Telegraph reports Tánaiste Martin saying that the threat of being deported Rwanda is causing an influx of asylum seekers into the Republic.
The Rwanda Bill was passed into law by Westminster last week. A British government official statement said: “The Safety of Rwanda Bill completed its passage through Parliament overnight, Monday 22 April.
“The Bill’s passing means the government can enter the final phase of operational planning to get flights off the ground to Rwanda, pioneering a new response to the global challenge of illegal migration.
“Robust operational plans are in place to ensure a first flight to Rwanda can be delivered within 10-12 weeks, with multiple flights set to take off after this.”
Under the Rwanda asylum plan, some migrants who would otherwise claim asylum in Britain will be removed to Rwanda. Even if their application for asylum is successful, they will not be re-admitted back to the UK.
Tory MPs argue that the Rwanda policy is achieving its intended deterrent effect, despite European criticism
The measure is designed to stop the illegal ‘bot trade’ which sees immigrants trying to get into Britain from France via the English Channel.
The bill, according to Tánaiste Micheál Martin, this has caused a further strain on Ireland coping with an already fraught immigration crisis.
Ireland is already grappling with heightened immigration and a severe housing crisis, with some international protection applicants resorting to tents. In the year leading up to April 2023, over 140,000 immigrants arrived in Ireland. This coupled with a severe housing crisis has led to anti-immigration protests. There are suspicions that these protests have been infiltrated by far-right groups.
Last week six people were arrested after gardaí were attacked by a protesters and demonstrators at a site earmarked to accommodate international protection applicants in Newtownmountkennedy, Co. Wicklow, on Thursday.
Gardaí said the incident escalated when workers, contracted to carry out lawful employment on the site, were prevented from entering.
Those arrested people were detained for alleged offences under the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act, 1994 and are currently being held at Garda stations in Wicklow.
A spokesman for the Garda said uniformed officers were subjected to verbal and physical abuse throughout the day, which escalated into rocks and other missiles being thrown. Fires were lit and an axe was recovered by gardaí during the incident.
During Brexit negotiations, the Good Friday Agreement came into play, which guaranteed an open border on the island of Ireland. This was subsequently underwritten by the Windsor Framework. But there are now accusations that the open border is a route for asylum seekers.
