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Rwanda Bill causing migrants to head for Ireland instead of UK, deputy PM says - SKYNEWS
It comes at a time when tension over immigration levels is high in Ireland, with the country experiencing a housing crisis.
The threat of deportation to Rwanda is causing migrants to head for Ireland instead of the UK, Ireland's deputy prime minister has said.
The Rwanda Bill, which will see asylum seekers "entering the UK illegally" sent to the central African nation - regardless of the outcome of their application - was passed on Tuesday, despite human rights concerns.
Micheal Martin told The Daily Telegraph that the policy was already affecting Ireland, as people were "fearful" of staying in the UK.
The former Taoiseach said: "Maybe that's the impact it was designed to have."
Mr Martin, who is also Ireland's foreign secretary, said asylum seekers were seeking "to get sanctuary here and within the European Union as opposed to the potential of being deported to Rwanda".
His words follow those of justice minister Helen McEntee, who told a scrutiny committee in the Irish parliament earlier this week that migrants and refugees were crossing the border with Northern Ireland.
Ms McEntee said "higher than 80%" of people seeking asylum in Ireland entered the country through Northern Ireland, a border crossing that is open as guaranteed under a UK-EU Brexit treaty.
