Letters

Asylum policy – a deep sense of unease

The sad spectacle of tented communities springing up in our capital city

Letters to the Editor. Illustration: Paul Scott

The Irish Times - Letters to the Editor.

Tue May 7 2024 - 00:10

Sir, – Simon Harris may be right that Rishi Sunak’s offer to let Ireland join its Rwanda scheme is “more satire than news” (News, May 3rd) but only Flann O’Brien could do justice to the Taoiseach’s plan to return asylum seekers across the 500km unmanned Border and expect them to stay there. – Yours, etc,

Dr JOHN DOHERTY,

Gaoth Dobhair,

Co Dhún na nGall.

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Sir, – While I agree for the most part with the sentiments expressed by Barbara Keogh (Letters, May 4th), I disagree with her opening comment, “Now that the authorities have addressed the Mount Street debacle ... “. The problem was not “addressed”, it was merely moved elsewhere out of view – and at great expense, it must be added. – Yours, etc,

JIM O’SULLIVAN,

Rathedmond,

Sligo.

Sir, – Pressure on local services and fear of differences are understandable concerns when groups of male asylum seekers relocate to small communities.

However, to reduce conflict, State agencies can do more by engaging communities in the planning process and demonstrate a willingness to negotiate. For example, the State could allocate funding to improve local services and infrastructure or support a long-standing community request. Furthermore, asylum seekers could work on local initiatives, such as improving recreational facilities. Such initiatives give asylum seekers something to do, benefit communities, and foster integration and mutual acceptance. – Yours, etc,

PADDY MEYLER,

Delgany,

Co Wicklow.

Sir, – The conclusions drawn by Alex Kane should not come as a surprise (“Maybe now the Irish Government will accept that the UK and unionists had a point about open borders”, Opinion & Analysis, May 4th). It was blindingly obvious that the Irish Government’s insistence on a shadow border between Northern Ireland and the rest of Ireland was always going to be a double-edged device.

Since the inception of the UK-Ireland Common Travel Area (CTA), the Irish Department of Justice, through its immigration controls, has operated the same rule book on incoming migrants as that of its UK counterpart. It could not do otherwise if the CTA was going to be a reality, with unfettered movement of people on the island of Ireland and across the Irish Sea.

Hence, the republic is outside Schengen. But therein lies the dilemma. Schengen promotes free movement within the EU 27. The trade-off is to create border control at the EU external border. But where is that in our case? We still don’t know for sure but precedence and logic would indicate that Dover, Heathrow and Stranraer are high-profile examples of many UK mainland locations where it should operate in principle, both for the UK and for Ireland. Yet we are now told that this does not appear to be the case; hence the sad spectacle of tented communities springing up in our capital city.

Perhaps, the time has come, as a mature member state, to join Schengen and transfer our border with the UK to Dublin, airport, Dublin Port, Rosslare etc? Indeed, there is no separate immigration channel for UK arrivals at Dublin airport in any event.

Therein lies a deep sense of unease and hypocrisy over this sorry episode which Alex Kane rightly highlights. – Yours, etc,

DONAL DENHAM,

Blackrock,

Co Dublin.

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