Those behind illegal immigration into the State could face an unlimited fine or up to 10 years imprisonment or both, under legislation introduced in the Dail by the Minister for Justice. It provides on summary conviction for a fine not exceeding £1,500 or a prison sentence of not more than a year, or both.

Mr O'Donoghue stressed that the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Bill was aimed at the traffickers, not at the immigrants.

Mr O'Donoghue said under the Bill, a court may order the forfeiture of the means of transport used for trafficking in illegal immigrants. He was also considering, he said, whether to impose responsibility on carriers to ensure they brought into the State only those passengers who were legally entitled to come here. Statistics, he added, showed that 82 per cent of all asylum-applicants were made not at the ports but inland. "One might expect a percentage of applications to be made inland by terrified people fleeing persecution - that is why our procedures and legislation makes inland applications possible.

"However, where the bulk of our applications are being made inland, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that applicants are being smuggled across our borders in an organised, clandestine way by unscrupulous people."

The level of applicants for asylum had increased from 424 in 1995 to 4,626 last year, he said. "At the end of October this year, we had received 5,497 applications. The numbers applying monthly this year are indicative of this spiral. We had 234 applications in January, but this figure had jumped dramatically to over 1,000 in October. This sort of increase does not occur by accident and is further indicative of the involvement of commercial traffickers."

However, Mr O'Donoghue said, concern had been expressed in some quarters that the wording used in the Bill was too broad and could encompass the activities of bona fide organisations who assisted asylum-seekers. He was prepared, therefore, to listen sympathetically to what deputies had to say and consider if redrafting was necessary.

The Fine Gael spokesman on justice, Mr Jim Higgins, said the consequences of the legislation should be put in perspective.

"Under this legislation, for example, and if the US decided to invoke the full rigours of the measures we are about to introduce, the dozens of Aer Lingus planes which ferried thousands of young undocumented Irish to the US in the 1980s and early 1990s would be impounded and forfeited, the Aer Lingus personnel could be fined up to £1,500 and get up to 12 months in prison for knowingly facilitating the passage of these people. Is this Minister saying that this would have been justified?"

"One has to acknowledge that human trafficking is a problem. It has to be tackled. One hates to see innocent people ripped off and exploited, but there is a downside. One has to make an explicit distinction between those who exploit refugees for commercial purposes and those who are genuinely concerned with refugees and their welfare."

The Labour spokesman on justice, Mr Brendan Howlin, said there was a need for additional powers and penalties to penalise those who, for financial gain, exploited vulnerable people seeking refuge in the State.

"However, this Bill makes absolutely no distinction between professional traffickers and people who may, for humanitarian or personal reasons, assist the entry into this country of whose who should qualify for refugee status. If this Bill is allowed to pass unamended, I can see it creating difficulties for organisations that work with refugees and asylum-seekers."

Mr John Gormley (Green Party, Dublin South East) said his party would be putting down amendments at committee stage to counter any ill-effects on immigrants and those who sought to help them.

If the Bill was enacted without major amendment, it would make it more difficult for asylum-seekers to reach Ireland, he added. Amnesty International, the UN High Commission for Refugees, the Irish Refugee Council, and other such groups, had continually warned against the use of "carrier sanctions", such as provided in the Bill.