Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris has requested Justice Minister Helen McEntee to introduce legislation to enable asylum seekers to be returned to the UK, BBC reports.
The move comes after McEntee revealed that 80% of recent arrivals in Ireland crossed from the UK. The UK’s Rwanda policy, aimed at deterring asylum seekers by potentially sending them to a third country, has recently become law, although no migrants have been sent to Rwanda yet. Harris seeks amendments to existing laws to allow the return of inadmissible asylum seekers to the UK.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak defended the policy, stating that it was already having a deterrent effect. He emphasized that if people know they won’t be able to stay in the UK, they are less likely to come. Meanwhile, Home Office figures show a rise in small boat arrivals in the UK compared to the same period last year.
