Ireland’s deputy prime minister has described the UK government’s Rwanda policy as a “knee-jerk reaction” to immigration, saying it could result in an influx of asylum seekers into Ireland.
Ireland’s Tánaiste Governor Michael Martin said asylum seekers fearing being deported from the UK to Rwanda are seeking sanctuary in Ireland.
Ireland is located about three-quarters of the way from Ukraine and hosts more than 100,000 refugees. The influx coincides with a severe housing crisis that is driving up rents and homelessness and fueling anti-immigrant sentiment. Last November’s riots left parts of central Dublin destroyed.
Mr Martin, who is also Ireland’s foreign secretary, said asylum seekers were seeking “refuge here and within the European Union as opposed to potentially being deported to Rwanda”.
“There are 11 million people evacuating from Ukraine and millions of people in Sudan,” Martin, who visited Jordan on Wednesday, said in a statement. It doesn’t really do anything to address the problem.”
His statement is The Daily Telegraph reportedwas introduced as the Rwanda Bill, which would allow for the deportation of asylum seekers who arrived in the UK by irregular means to Kigali, and was ratified with Royal Assent as the Rwanda Security Act.
Earlier this week, President Emmanuel Macron criticized immigration policies that include sending people to African countries, calling them a “betrayal of our country.” [European] values”. The French president made the remarks Thursday in a wide-ranging speech aimed at warning Europe against over-reliance on other countries for security and trade.
Turning to immigration, he said he doesn’t believe in “this model that some people are trying to introduce, which is to go to places like Africa and find third countries and send migrants there.”
He added: “This is a betrayal of our values and will lead us down a new path of dependence on third countries.”
The deal with Rwanda will cost £1.8m for each of the first 300 deportees, the National Audit Office has confirmed.
Matthew Rycroft, the Home Office’s most senior civil servant who has overseen the scheme for two years, previously told MPs there was no evidence the scheme had a deterrent effect worth the money.
Home Ministry officials have privately warned that thousands of asylum seekers have disappeared and are at risk if removals begin, hoping to avoid receiving notices that they will be sent to Kigali.
