Two people were being questioned by gardaí in Wexford last night after the discovery of 15 Romanian stowaways in a camper van that arrived in Rosslare from France yesterday afternoon.
The group, which included teenagers as well as men and women in their 40s and 50s, was discovered in the back of the Irish-registered van at 12.15 p.m. after the Irish Ferries vessel MV Normandy docked on arrival from Cherbourg.
Wexford gardaí and immigration officers based at Rosslare Harbour were alerted by Irish Ferries staff who noticed the group entering the rear of the camper van before docking at Rosslare.
A man and woman in their 30s who are believed to be from Dublin were arrested and held at Wexford Garda station under Section Four of the Criminal Justice Act.
The Romanians were refused permission to land at Rosslare as they did not have what is defined as necessary documentation.
None of the group of 15 sought to apply for asylum and they were refused entry to the country under the Aliens Act, 1935, following questioning by immigration officials in relation to their journey and how they boarded the vessel and, later, the vehicle.
The group was placed on board the 4 p.m. sailing of the MV Normandy yesterday, which is due to dock at Cherbourg at 12.30 p.m. today.
Rosslare Harbour has seen a dramatic reduction in the number of people applying for asylum following the introduction of a series of Garda initiatives.
In November 2000, when the 1996 Refugee Act came into force, gardaí began travelling on all Irish Ferries vessels serving France, vetting passengers as they boarded in Cherbourg.
In 2000, over 11,000 people applied for asylum in Ireland, with 14 per cent of these arriving in Rosslare via Cherbourg.
Eight Turkish stowaways were found dead in a shipping container in Wexford in December 2001.
Responding to the latest incident, Wexford County Councillor Mr Paudge Reck (Ind) said the French authorities had questions to answer.
"The first port of entry is where the responsibility for asylum-seekers lies and I feel that they are often offloaded to Ireland. In the past 18 months, because of new legislation here, this has stopped and I would be concerned if it is starting again; we will have to be vigilant.
"I have been criticised for my views on this in the past but people who come into this country seeking asylum are treated better than our own who are living in cardboard boxes on our streets."
Wexford Fine Gael TD, Mr Paul Kehoe, said that his first reaction on hearing of the discovery was to hope that it wasn't another tragedy similar to the multiple deaths in December 2001.
"I am glad that they were spotted and sent back as the proper documents were not in place. It was lucky they were caught by the authorities as it so easy to get out of Rosslare and disappear. It is a major problem, not just at Rosslare but in every major port."