Carriers of illegal immigrants face on-the-spot fines of up to £5,000 under a Government move to criminalise the trafficking of asylum-seekers.
Provision for fines will be contained in an amendment to the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Bill to be introduced by the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, in the Dail on Thursday.
Department of Justice officials have sought advice from the Attorney-General on the issue of introducing on-the-spot fines for drivers of vehicles caught trying to bring refugees into the country illegally. Repeat offenders may have their licences endorsed as well. Officials are also looking at the introduction powers to allow the impounding of aircraft on which illegal immigrants are flown into the country. However, no decision has been reached on this issue yet.
A Department of Justice source said last night that on-the-spot fines would be far more effective and in some cases necessary than having to fine somebody through the courts. He said it was an issue the Attorney-General is looking at.
Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ms Liz O'Donnell, confirmed last night that the Progressive Democrats will be launching their policy document on refugees in the next fortnight. Ms O'Donnell was at the centre of a controversy over the weekend when she described the Government's refugee policy as a shambles. She said last night the administration of refugees is "totally unsatisfactory" and is something that will have to be looked at urgently.
She said the existing arrangement where economic migrants have to go through the asylum process is wrong.
It is understood the party's policy document on refugees will contain proposals to have two channels to deal with refugees: one for asylum-seekers and one for economic migrants.
When publishing the Bill last June, Mr O'Donoghue said he was seriously concerned about "organised criminal elements" exploiting "vulnerable individuals" by arranging their movement across borders in dangerous conditions. However, speaking on RTE television on Sunday night, Mr O'Donoghue singled out those who transport immigrants into the State by taxi from Northern Ireland as being a target of this legislation.
The Tanaiste, Ms Harney, said yesterday that criticisms of the handling of the refugee crisis by her party colleague, Ms Liz O'Donnell, were not directed at the Minister for Justice but at the administrative problems that have arisen.
She said the scale of the numbers coming into Ireland had led to a major bottleneck, but the Government is determined to resolve the difficulties. She said she was as determined as everybody else to support Mr O'Donoghue and the other Ministers involved in the day-to-day management of the refugee issue.
Declining to say directly whether she supported the comments of the junior minister, the Tanaiste said Ms O'Donnell was a part of the Government and that everybody needs to work together to bring about a positive agenda on the refugee issue.
She made her comments in Bettystown after launching a local economic development plan for Drogheda by the towns' chamber of commerce.