Rwanda scheme ‘driving migrants to seek asylum in Dublin instead’

BORIS Johnson’s Rwanda migrant scheme is driving asylum seekers to divert to Ireland, the country’s premier has said.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin has blamed the flagship scheme for helping to cause a surge in the number of migrants seeking to reach Ireland.

Mr Martin, who condemned the plan as a ‘shocking sort of initiative’, said it was ‘one of a number of factors’ driving up asylum claims in the country.

The Home Office declined to comment on the claim, but it is likely to be seized on by supporters of the Rwanda scheme as evidence that it will have a significant deterrent effect that could eventually break the business model of the people smuggling gangs.

Irish officials believe that some migrants crossing the Channel in small boats who would once have claimed asylum in the UK may now be travelling on to Dublin before doing so.

The common travel area between the two countries means there are no border checks. Traditionally, two-thirds of asylum claims were lodged at Dublin airport. But in recent weeks, claims made in offices in Dublin have risen to 60 per cent of the total, suggesting many more are travelling overland.

An Irish government spokesman told The Sunday Telegraph: ‘Recent policy changes in other jurisdictions, including the UK... may be creating the perception of a less welcoming immigration and international protection environment, leading to secondary movements of applicants.’