Ireland rejects PM’s offer to take part in Rwanda plan

IRELAND has rejected Britain’s offer for it to take part in the Rwanda plan, amid further tensions between Dublin and London over migration.

Officials poured cold water on the offer, ahead of Simon Harris’s first visit as Irish prime minister to Northern Ireland on Friday.

His visit to the region risks being overshadowed by a row triggered by Irish claims that up to 90 per cent of asylum seekers arriving in Dublin have crossed the open border with Northern Ireland because they fear the Rwanda plan.

Mr Harris has said Rishi Sunak must uphold an agreement to take back migrants but the Prime Minister insists the Common Travel Area arrangements are not legally binding.

“If the Irish government believes the Rwanda plan is already having an effect, we can explore Ireland joining the Rwanda scheme,” a Downing Street source said on Thursday.

Standing outside Stormont Castle, Mr Harris said the offer was “more satire than news” as he dismissed it.

Dublin officials rejected the British offer as “spin”. They told the Irish Independent that no formal offer had been made and that the Tory government knew Ireland would reject it anyway.

Earlier, Mr Harris criticised antiimmigration protesters who gathered outside his home Wicklow on Thursday night.

“I always think people’s families and people’s homes should be out of bounds,” he said.

“It was bedtime for my kids last night when this situation arose. I don’t think it’s appropriate.”

Other politicians’ homes have also been targeted by anti-migrant groups. Mr Harris was not at home when the protest happened.

The briefing came after Micheál Martin, the deputy prime minister, warned opposition MPs not to be taken in by the “Right-wing Tory press”.