Ireland to redesignate UK as ‘safe country’ for asylum seekers

A plan to draft new Irish legislation which would redesignate the UK as a “safe country” to which asylum seekers can be returned has been approved.

Irish government ministers collectively approved the plan brought to Cabinet by Justice Minister Helen McEntee.

But the British government has said it will decide who it accepts into the UK.

Tánaiste (Irish deputy prime minister) Micheál Martin said last week that asylum seekers were seeking “sanctuary here and within the European Union as opposed to the potential of being deported to Rwanda”.

The situation has been complicated by a recent court ruling.

In March, the Republic of Ireland’s High Court ruled that Ireland’s designation of the UK as a safe third country for returning asylum seekers was contrary to EU law, in light of the UK’s controversial Rwanda policy.

On Tuesday morning, Ms McEntee brought her proposal to the Irish Cabinet in a bid to close the “loophole” that has arisen as a result of the High Court judgement.

“What this will do is enable us to redesignate the UK as a safe country for the purposes of returns,” she said ahead of the Cabinet meeting.

“We have an arrangement in place with the UK. It’s been in place post-Brexit and since Covid, but it hasn’t been in effect because of the High Court ruling.”

Ms McEntee said her proposed legislation would address the ruling and close the loophole that prevented the Irish government from sending back asylum seekers who had traveled to the Republic of Ireland from the UK.

But a Downing Street spokesperson appeared to contradict her claims about the post-Brexit agreement between the Irish and UK governments.

Number 10 conceded that there are “operational arrangements” between UK and Ireland but said there was “not a legal obligation to accept the return of asylum seekers”.

The spokesperson also confirmed that “under those operational arrangements no asylum seekers have been returned to the UK.”

They added: “It’s up to the UK government who we do and do not accept into the country.”