UK accepted return of 201 migrants from Ireland under current deal but none were sent

The UK accepted it would take back just over 200 migrants under a 2020 agreement with the State – although none have been sent back.

Despite commitments made since 2020, Britain said this week it had no legal obligation to accept the return of migrants under the deal, and that it will not do so until it is able to return people who arrive from the European Union.

With an effective deadlock on transfers, it is understood that both countries have asked the other to accept in the region of 1,800 migrants each under the deal since it was agreed four years ago.

Irish officials said Britain agreed to accept 201 returns under the policy, but none has been returned, with sources in Dublin blaming High Court proceedings which ultimately resulted in a judgment preventing returns entirely.

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The Government is appealing that judgment and planning to pass new laws which it says will clear the way to resume returns. However, the figures – as well as statements from UK prime minister Rishi Sunak – suggest that immediate return of migrants will be difficult.

[ A week that shook Irish politics on immigration reminds us of our fragile relations with Britain ]

For its part, Ireland agreed to accept seven asylum seekers under the deal out of the roughly 1,800 sought by Britain, with just a single person being returned.

Both Britain and Ireland have refused hundreds of requests under the contentious deal at the centre of a diplomatic row between the two countries.

A spokesman for the Department of Justice said the procedure for returns it agreed with the UK home office is not public and it does not provide operational details of immigration procedures to avoid any impact on the effectiveness of operations. However, speaking privately, senior government officials confirmed the accuracy of figures.

[ Alex Kane: Maybe now the Irish Government will accept that the UK and unionists had a point about open borders ]

Asked for comment on the statistics a spokesman for the UK Home Office said: “We have no legal obligation to accept the returns of illegal migrants from Ireland.”

Officials in Dublin are also considering whether they can send migrants directly back to their country of origin if the UK will not accept them.

Elsewhere, unaccompanied minors will be accommodated in separate State housing if they arrive into Ireland seeking refuge and there is a dispute about their age, the Public Accounts Committee has been told.

[ ‘I’m not okay’: 1,676 asylum seekers remain without State accommodation ]

[ Asylum seekers pitch tents in Ballsbridge park after Dublin city centre camp cleared ]

Secretary general of the Department of Justice Oonagh McPhillips has responded to a series of questions posed by the PAC about the number of unaccompanied minors from Ukraine who arrive seeking support, but who later are the subject of an age dispute.

If a person declares themselves to be a minor, an international protection officer attempts to verify that through assessment of any documentation provided, their history of travel, maturity and behaviour.

Unaccompanied minors are accommodated by and cared for by Tusla.

[ Pat Leahy: A tougher asylum system is now a political necessity. That might not be pretty ]

In February, the chief executive of Tusla, Kate Duggan, told the PAC that there had been a 500 per cent increase in the number of unaccompanied minors entering the country as a result of the war in Ukraine and wider global migration.

While the figures prior to 2022 were not detailed, the committee was told in that year 597 unaccompanied minors arrived into the country, of whom 261 had come from Ukraine, while in 2023 a total of 527 unaccompanied minors arrived, of whom 177 were from Ukraine.

Some 1,676 asylum seekers remain without accommodation, according to figures published on Friday.

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