The Irish government has refused an offer from Downing Street to join the scheme where asylum seekers are sent for processing to Rwanda, amidst controversy over a surge in asylum applicants coming from the UK to Ireland.
The Telegraph reported that the British government said it “was open to exploring Ireland’s participation in the scheme after Irish ministers blamed the deterrent effect of deportation to Rwanda for the surge in asylum seekers arriving in Dublin from Britain”.
Rishi Sunak has rejected demands by Simon Harris, the Irish prime minister, to take back the asylum seekers, unless the EU agrees to receive migrants who have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel.
However, a Downing Street source said: “If the Irish government believes the Rwanda plan is already having an effect, we can explore Ireland joining the Rwanda scheme. Many countries are looking at a third country now, which is why Sir Keir Starmer’s amnesty for 115,000 illegal immigrants a year is so shortsighted.”
Immigration has become a highly controversial subject ahead of elections in both countries, and claims by the Irish Minister for Justice Helen McEntee that 80% of current applicants for asylum in Ireland are arriving through the border in Northern Ireland have led to disputes with the British government on the issue.
In 2022, Denmark also made an agreement with Rwanda to explore setting up a program in which asylum seekers arriving in Denmark could be transferred to the African country.
However, the Irish government has dismissed the offer from Downing Street, saying “we have our own immigration policy”.
Irish government sources tonight dismissing this, er, offer.
One source describes it as “tragic”.
“We have our own immigration policy,” a second source adds.
Fair to say it is not being taken seriously. https://t.co/lNjDSAZggL
— Hugh O'Connell (@oconnellhugh) May 2, 2024
More than 1,700 asylum seekers are homeless in Ireland according to authorities, with the asylum system in disarray as a surge in numbers means almost 30,000 people are being accommodated by the state at a time when more than 105,000 Ukrainians have also been granted temporary protection.
The shortage of asylum accommodation, coming at a time when Ireland was already experiencing a housing crisis, has led to protests against the imposition of migrants centres throughout the country.