A Ccontroversial law introducing on-the-spot fines of €1,500 for each undocumented migrant brought to Ireland by carriers including ferries, hauliers or airline companies, will come before the Seanad this week.
Measures to tighten up the asylum system will also be contained in Government amendments to the Immigration Bill 2001, due to go before the Cabinet tomorrow.
The carriers' fines have attracted criticism from organisations including Amnesty and the Irish Refugee Council, who claim the sanctions would drive desperate undocumented refugees into the hands of illegal traffickers.
The law has also been opposed by the Irish Road Hauliers' Association, which has said hauliers were being driven out of business. The Labour Party is due to propose several significant amendments to the Bill when it comes before the Seanad on Wednesday evening. One of these will seek to exempt carriers from fines if the undocumented migrants they are caught transporting are asylum-seekers.
The party's Seanad justice spokeswoman, Ms Joanna Tuffy, will also propose an amendment to strengthen the right of appeal to the Supreme Court of failed asylum-seekers taking judicial reviews. The party has criticised the tight scheduling arrangements for the Bill in the Seanad as "totally inadequate".
The Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, said last week he would examine whether it would be "constitutional or proper" to issue refunds to carriers fined for transporting undocumented migrants who are subsequently found to be refugees entitled to permanent protection in the State.
The asylum measures contained in the Government amendments to the Bill are believed to include an extension of the detention time for failed asylum-seekers awaiting deportation. The Minister has also said he wished to include in the Bill provision for a list of countries considered safe, nationals of which would have their asylum claims fast-tracked with a presumption that they were "manifestly unfounded".