‘Crackdown’ on wrongful asylum applications

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has said she will make a decision shortly on adding more countries to the ‘safe countries’ list, calling it a “crackdown” on people wrongfully entering the International Protection process.

Safe countries of origin are countries where it can be shown that there is generally and consistently no persecution, no torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and no threat by reason of indiscriminate violence in situations of international or internal armed conflict.

The countries are Albania; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Georgia; Kosovo; Macedonia (Former Yugoslav Republic of); Montenegro; Serbia; and South Africa.

Last July, the Cabinet was told that there had been a 70% fall in the number of International Protection applicants arriving these countries.

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Speaking on RTÉ’s This Week, Minister McEntee said the move was about strengthening the current International Protection system. She added that she will bring that proposal to Cabinet.

She said the move will come as a “crackdown” on the six out of ten people who apply for International Protection and have their applications declined, adding that the nation will support the four out of ten people who successfully apply.

“I want to make sure that those four out of 10 people that they can come here, that they know that they can come here, that we will offer them the protection that they need,” she said.

“But the six out of ten who shouldn’t be coming this particular route, yes, in that sense, it’s a crackdown that they see they’re going to be processed quicker, now it’s in less than 60 days that they’re going to be turned around much quicker, their appeal as well, and that they’re not going to be successful.”

Since adding Georgia to the list, applications from there have decreased by more than half.

She also confirmed that she is again considering increasing fines for airlines if passengers arrive in Ireland without passports or official documents.

Concern over list expansion

The CEO of the Irish Refugee Council said he is really concerned by news that the safe list is to be expanded and is opposed to the move.

Nick Henderson said the minister has to establish a very high threshold to designate a country safe.

“The country has to have no persecution and we don’t think that can be established in the countries we see,” he said.