Fingerprints reveal asylum claims made elsewhere

ALMOST 180 newly arrived asylum-seekers whose fingerprints were checked against an EU-wide database were found to have already made a refugee claim elsewhere in Europe, it has emerged.

The Department of Justice, in collaboration with other EU member States, began operating the Eurodac fingerprint database last January to try to clamp down on fraudulent asylum claims.

Under the Dublin Convention asylum seekers entering Europe must seek asylum in the first European country they enter and cannot subsequently travel onwards to another member State to apply for refugee status there.