Aontú Leader and Meath West TD Peadar Tóibín has called on the Irish Government to engage more closely with the British Government on the Common Travel Area following what could be a landmark ruling on a migration case today in Belfast.
The High Court found that the Illegal Migration Act 2023 which gives new powers for the British Government to detain and remove asylum seekers it deems to have arrived illegally, breaches Britain’s obligations under Article 2(1) of the Windsor Framework and the ECHR.
The Meath West TD said:
“This landmark ruling will obviously affect the British Government’s Rwanda policy in the North, but will also have implications in the south of Ireland given the operation of the Common Travel Area and free movement. Despite the protestations of the British Prime Minister, it is clear that the Rwanda policy will now not apply to the North, and therefore a logical conclusion will be that more people will come to the north of Ireland in order to escape it. That will likely mean that more people will cross the border and seek asylum in the South. The Irish Government must now engage with the British Government to ascertain how that will be managed. The loud hailer diplomacy that happened before the English Local elections will not cut it”.
“Aontú advocates for an Irish Sea Border for people – and it is the only way that migration onto this island can be monitored and managed. This policy is also in the long term in the interest of the British Government. Historically most flows of people have been from the south into the north of Ireland and then on to Britain. The only way that migration can be controlled between both islands is at the airports and the ferry ports. The island of Ireland is already treated as a unit for agriculture and the DUP has been forced to accept an Irish Sea border for goods. In such a situation British and Irish citizens would be able to travel from country to country by way of a passport while those seeking asylum would apply at the airports and ferry ports”.
“The Common Travel Area is key to both countries. It is underpinned by many years of co-operation and legislation and is more important after Brexit than ever, but in reality it won’t work if both counties operate radically different immigration policies. The Irish Government must act now and engage the British Government on an all-island Sea Border.”
ENDS
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