Ireland may need to review asylum laws to respond to UK changes, says minister

(Left to right) Minister for justice, home affairs and migration Jim O'Callaghan, Tánaiste Simon Harris, secretary of state for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn and under-secretary of state for Northern Ireland Matthew Patrick at the British Irish Intergovernmental Conference at Farmleigh House in Dublin today. Photo: Conor O Mearain/PA

Changes to UK immigration laws may require Irish laws to be updated, amid fears asylum seekers are using the Common Travel Area to seek asylum in both Ireland and the UK, the justice minister has said.

Following the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference in Farmleigh, both Tánaiste Simon Harris and justice minister Jim O’Callaghan expressed concerns about asylum seekers travelling back and forth to the UK.

The UK is to announce sweeping changes to its immigration procedures, with British home secretary Shabana Mahmood describing the current system as “out of control”, suggesting that illegal immigration is “tearing the UK apart”.

This includes reviewing people’s immigration status and telling them to return home if their home country is deemed safe.

At Farmleigh, Northern Irish secretary of state Hilary Benn, a member of Keir Starmer’s Government, said if the situation in the “land of their birth” got “better”, “most of us would want to go home to carry on with our lives”.

Mr O’Callaghan confirmed that his department received a briefing from the UK government last week on the plans, but acknowledged that they may have to lead to changes in Irish laws.

He said:
Changes to the UK asylum laws can have an impact in Ireland and have had an impact in the past.

“That's not to say that the UK can't change their asylum laws. They're perfectly entitled to change their asylum laws, and I thank them for giving us a heads up in respect of it.

“However, what it does indicate is that we need to be nimble in Ireland as we may need to change our laws and our provisions as well to respond to any changes that are taking place in the UK.”

The justice minister also stated that 80% of people applying for asylum in Ireland are coming to Dublin from the UK via Belfast.

“I know there's a concern in the UK that individuals arriving in Dublin are making their way up to Belfast and then going over to the UK that way,” he said.

“What it does indicate to me is that there has to be significant co-operation between both jurisdictions in respect of it.

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“But what we shouldn't accept as being permissible is individuals applying in one jurisdiction and then deciding to come to the other jurisdiction, where they can also apply.

“The Common Travel Area, as I've repeatedly stated, and as the Tánaiste has repeatedly stated, is for the benefit of the citizens of the UK and Ireland.

“Other persons are not allowed to avail of it. That's a message that I think both governments need to consistently emphasise.”