Tánaiste Simon Harris has admitted he still does not know how a convicted rapist with 19 previous convictions was allowed into Ireland, saying, “I don’t have that information today, being quite honest.”
In an interview with Gript this morning, the Tánaiste was asked again about the case of Randi Gladstone, a 41-year-old man from Guyana who entered Ireland in 2023 and raped an 18-year-old woman within days of his arrival. Gladstone had been convicted in the UK of multiple serious offences, including rape and kidnapping. Harris was first questioned about the case on April 1st but said then he was not “across the details.”
Four weeks later, he said the same.
“I don’t have any further knowledge in relation to that case,” Harris told Gript this morning.
When pressed on whether such cases should be a matter of concern for a senior Government figure, he said Ireland’s immigration system must be improved.
“That’s why today at Cabinet we’re bringing forward proposals to improve the immigration system in Ireland,” he said.
“To make it more robust. To make it more firm. To make sure that the systems work and work better. That’s our overriding objective here in relation to making sure we have an immigration system that is fit for purpose.”
The Tánaiste was then asked directly if he knew why the system failed to detect Gladstone’s criminal history, or whether it had been flagged at all.
“My position in relation to it is very clear,” Harris replied.
“If people have such issues they should of course be flagged. The system should of course detect them. And it should be a cause of concern that that didn’t happen, should that have happened.”
He said he did not have access to the information necessary to explain what went wrong.
“I don’t have that information today, being quite honest,” he said.
“I am of the view that we need to have a firm migration system. I am aware that we do fingerprints and run screening when people come into this country. It is important that people know that. And if on this occasion there was an issue, that that didn’t work, of course there’s a need for further explanation of what they should do.”
The Tánaiste acknowledged the public reaction to the case and the wider immigration debate.
“I think when people protest and express their views in a democracy, I think they should always be heard,” he said.
“I do think people have made it very clear that in Ireland the overwhelming majority of people believe migration to be a good thing—but they want to know that the systems work. And I accept that when people raise cases where there is significant public concern in relation to that, that that does merit the need for further answers and further information.”
Gladstone was convicted earlier this year of raping and falsely imprisoning a young woman in a Dublin holiday complex in August 2023. According to evidence heard in court, the attack occurred just days after he arrived in Ireland. He was sentenced to ten years in prison by the Central Criminal Court.
Justice Patrick McGrath described the incident as a “very serious offence with a considerable breach of trust,” stating that Gladstone had “preyed on this young vulnerable woman” and that his actions “clearly show cunning and planning.” The judge said there was “no reason to consider suspending any portion of this sentence.”
Gladstone had 19 previous convictions in the UK, including for rape, kidnapping, robbery and false imprisonment.
There is no public confirmation of the capacity in which Gladstone entered Ireland, whether as an asylum seeker, tourist, or otherwise.
However, in relation to the Tánaiste’s fingerprinting comments, the Department of Justice says that the fingerprints of individuals entering Ireland are not checked against any criminal database during the immigration process. Fingerprints are checked against Eurodac and the Schengen Information System, but neither contains criminal records.
Minister for Integration Roderic O’Gorman previously claimed that asylum applicants’ fingerprints were checked against databases to identify involvement in criminality in EU states. However, the Department of Justice later confirmed that this is not the case.
The Europol Information System, which does contain criminal intelligence, is not routinely used in the fingerprinting process for people entering Ireland.
In cases where a person’s fingerprints do not produce a “hit” on European databases, and they have no documentation, their application for international protection proceeds as normal under the International Protection Act 2015. The State does not contact the person’s country of origin for criminal records, as this could breach refugee protections.