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Migration row: Have we forgotten these are people we’re talking about?

Attempting to appease the growing far-right clamour by swerving right is a risky strategy

The Department of Integration have has stated there is a risk women and children will not be accommodated. An emboldened far right lurks, as demonstrated by a cowardly and disgusting 'protest' outside Roderic O’Gorman’s home last week. Photograph: Tom Honan for The Irish Times

Nick Henderson
Wed May 1 2024 - 06:00

On Monday I witnessed a man, a newly arrived international protection applicant, putting up a flimsy tent on a pavement on Mount Street. I am ashamed that it was only later that day that I considered how humiliating this must have been. With more than 1,700 people without accommodation, we are at risk of normalising something that is appalling and shocking – and contrary to our domestic and international legal obligations.

While this man assembled his tent, on the airwaves and in meetings the UK and Ireland have become embroiled in a dispute. Listening to these exchanges a person could be forgiven for thinking they were about trade, not people.

While the UK should not be used as an excuse for the challenges Ireland faces, it is hard to overstate how (purposefully) dysfunctional the UK system is. The Illegal Migration Act 2023 states that any protection application must automatically be declared inadmissible if the person entered the UK irregularly. An application will not be considered in the UK’s asylum system, no matter how strong it may be. The UN refugee agency has described this as “an asylum ban in the UK”. The UK Refugee Council has stated it could leave more than 100,000 people in limbo. On Sunday, the Observer reported people will be detained with a view to being removed to Rwanda. In effect the UK has gone rogue on refugee issues.

I don’t know if the man on Mount Street had been in the UK – and we think the 80 per cent figure quoted by the Department of Justice is overstated (just because a person has not applied for protection at an airport or port does not necessarily mean that person has crossed the Border from Northern Ireland) – but, even if he had, this context is essential. The proposed emergency legislation to surmount the High Court decision in March that found the process behind designating the UK safe was unlawful is being portrayed as a fix –,but the Department of Justice would still have to show the person has connections to the UK, would be received back and be able to lodge an application or protection.

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Against this backdrop, Ireland now turns to the EU pact on asylum and migration and the route out of current challenges. The pact involves 10 EU regulations. It is proposed that Ireland adopts seven, which is still a hefty 1,100 pages of law. The European Commission and member states will develop implementation plans which may be as important as the regulations themselves.

Supporters of the pact have acknowledged its defects but stated that it is a product of negotiation and that it is better to participate and influence implementation than languish at the side like the UK does post Brexit. Notably, UNHCR welcomed the pact. Some have stated that there is a need to go slightly right to prevent the far right from taking ground. The next European Parliament is predicted to be volatile and upcoming holders of the presidency of the council of the European Union are member states who have taken a restrictive approach. This is a risky strategy: it is unlikely that the far right can ever be appeased and some of the most troubling aspects of the pact are mandatory.

While the pact began with good intentions, for example the aim of easing pressure on southern states, it has been gradually eroded by various member states’ hardening positions. We agree that change is needed. But not at any price. More than 160 organisations, including global ones, have raised concerns. The pact involves various devices and mechanisms for limiting access to the international protection process and then, when a person is in the process, making it harder to present their claim in a fair way.

One of the most concerning examples is the new “border procedure”, which is a crucial part of the pact. The Department of Justice’s statement on March 27th puts it thus: “those who are processed under the border procedure will not be authorised to enter Ireland and will be accommodated at designated locations.” This seems to suggest some form of detention or restriction on movement, which is of substantial concern. Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said otherwise on Morning Ireland, but the text is clear. People are not given entry to the country. Moreover, this “border procedure” is automatic. States are obliged to place people in it.

It is also worth noting the wider context. More people need and are receiving protection than ever before, but in a worse political and legal climate and framework than ever before. Also, many people who need protection are outside of Europe and may never get close to it. UNHCR estimate that 69 per cent of refugees are in neighbouring countries. Over the last year the overall EU recognition rate was as high as 45 per cent and the Irish rate (not including appeal) was about 30-35per cent.

There has been concern expressed that a few hours in the justice committee is insufficient to give the pact scrutiny. We, along with other charities and the UNCHR, presented to the committee on Tuesday. The Tánaiste said that he is open to a full debate on the pact but it is unclear what this means in practice. In the longer term, implementation of the pact’s regulations won’t have effect for two years. The Government could be setting itself up for a fall by suggesting opting in will relieve it of today’s challenges. As a charity with the protection of refugees in our mission we will be closely scrutinising draft legislation, calling for the highest standards and protections.

And still, great challenges that the pact will not address exist closer to home. The man on Mount Street will probably be there for some time. The Department of Integration has stated there is a risk women and children will not be accommodated. An emboldened far right lurks, as demonstrated by a cowardly and disgusting “protest” outside Roderic O’Gorman’s home last week. And Ireland is neighbouring a country, the UK, that has now nearly completely discarded its responsibilities under the Refugee Convention.

Nick Henderson is the chief executive of the Irish Refugee Council

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