The Government would be open to sending unsuccessful asylum seekers to sites outside the EU’s borders while deportation to their home countries is arranged, Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan has said.
The controversial proposal to transfer failed applicants to so-called deportation hubs was not something Ireland should “rule out at this stage”, the Fianna Fáil TD said.
A large number of national governments are pushing for firmer EU rules around deportations as part of a recent shift to the right on migration policy.
Proposals being debated in Brussels include new union-wide deportation orders, which any of the bloc’s 27 states could enforce, as well as green-lighting the idea of deportation or “return” hubs.
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Amnesty International and other civil society groups have criticised plans to send unsuccessful applicants to sites outside EU borders while the often complicated process of arranging deportations to their home countries in the Middle East, Africa or elsewhere takes place.
In an interview on Thursday, Mr O’Callaghan said Ireland would only consider such a scheme if it looked like it would be effective and not end up as a waste of money.
“If it’s effective and if it gives rise to consistency across the European Union, it’s something that I and the Government would consider,” he said. “In practice, a lot of money could be spent on trying to give effect to something that isn’t successful, but if it appears that it can succeed, it’s something that Ireland won’t rule out at this stage.”
He noted that attempts to outsource aspects of the asylum process had not “really been that successful in other countries when it has been tried”.
“We would need to see what proposals are put in place by the union in respect of return hubs and how they would operate,” said Mr O’Callaghan.
Under the plans being debated in Brussels, EU states would be allowed to strike agreements with other countries, such as Uganda or Rwanda, to host deportation hubs.
Any move to establish deportation processing facilities outside the EU would need “absolute guarantees” that the human rights of unsuccessful asylum applicants would be protected, Mr O’Callaghan said.
The Minister said any scheme would need to comply with international law, which prohibits anyone being deported to a country where they could be at risk of harm or persecution.
Government figures and officials have previously said they would need to study the details of how such deportation hubs or return agreements would work.
The proposal is at an early stage in the EU policymaking process. However, member states such as Italy, Denmark and the Netherlands are pushing for a quick agreement that would open the door to deals being struck to set up deportation hubs in Africa, or potentially in the western Balkans.
Tánaiste and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris, speaking late last year, said the return-hub proposal was not the same as the former UK government’s failed plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda to have their claims processed.
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Mr O’Callaghan said the wider reform of Europe’s deportation system was still “quite a bit away” from being approved.
The Dublin Bay South TD said the amount the State spends on private accommodation for asylum seekers was “not sustainable” and needs to be reined in. Running asylum accommodation directly was cheaper than paying private companies to provide temporary housing, he said.
Mr O’Callaghan was speaking in Brussels where he was meeting figures in the European Parliament in advance of Ireland assuming the rotating EU presidency next year.
