Ireland to resume sending asylum seekers back to the UK ‘by end of May’

The Irish government has said it is planning to enact legislation by the end of May that would allow it to resume sending asylum seekers who arrive over the border with Northern Ireland back to the United Kingdom.

Justice Minister Helen McEntee said the emergency legislation would allow for faster processing of migrants.

“This has never been a panacea when we talk about returns, the most effective way that we can have an immigration system that’s firm but fair is a fast processing system and what this means is that people’s applications are turned around much more quickly,” she said.

Ireland’s High Court ruled last month that Ireland could not send back people who arrive from the UK seeking asylum because the Irish government had not specified whether they would be at risk after their return.

Taoiseach Simon Harris said the legislation is about giving practical legal meaning to an agreement in place between the UK and Ireland since 2020.

Harris has urged Westminster to stand by the agreement, which allows asylum seekers to be returned in either direction.

Helen McEntee said that Ireland hadn’t returned anyone to the UK since 2020 as the agreement had been suspended during the coronavirus pandemic.

Immigration is an increasingly hot topic in Ireland, where asylum applications have been rising sharply.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak claims that the increase in migrants crossing over to Ireland proves that his controversial Rwanda policy, which aims to send some asylum seekers arriving in Britain on a one-way trip to the African country, is working.

Human rights activists and migrants’ groups call the policy unethical, inhumane and costly.

Irish officials estimate that more than 80% of arrivals into Ireland came via the land border with Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK.