I propose to take Questions Nos. 137, 138, 139 and 140 together.
I am fully committed to ensuring that Ireland’s International Protection system is robust and rules based, and that our borders are protected.
Prior to the UK leaving the EU, returns to the UK were governed under the EU Regulations; the UK was the primary destination country for people transferred from Ireland under these Regulations.
In 2020, of the 8 people transferred, 7 were to the UK.
Following the withdrawal of the UK from the EU, a new arrangement for reciprocal returns of international protection applicants between Ireland and the UK was agreed. However a High Court judgment subsequently identified legal issues with the process concerning the designation in Irish law of safe third countries.
These issues raised by the judgment were addressed by the Courts, Civil Law, Criminal Law and Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024 and, following an analysis required under the Act, I re-designated the UK as a safe third country for returns under the International Protection Act 2015, which applies to applications for international protection made prior to 12 June 2026.
Section 280 of the International Protection Act 2026, which came into effect on Friday 12 June 2026, allows me, as Minister, to designate a country as a safe third country following an assessment of relevant information and subject to the criteria set out in the section regarding the protection of rights in the safe third country.
Following completion of the analysis required under the 2026 Act, I can inform the Deputy that I have made the International Protection Act 2026 (Safe Third Country) Order 2026 (S.I. No. 254 of 2026), which designates the United Kingdom as a safe third country for the purposes of the 2026 Act.
Arrangements for re-operationalising the agreement, on foot of the re-designation of the UK as a safe third country under the 2015 Act and its subsequent designation as a safe third country for the purposes of the 2026 Act, will be put in place in consultation with the UK.
As no return orders were issued during the Covid pandemic and due to the litigation challenges outlined above, only one return order has been signed for a UK inadmissible applicant during this recent period.
Last week, I discussed the importance of cross border cooperation in protecting the Common Travel Area (CTA) for both Ireland and the UK by phone with the Northern Ireland Minister for Justice, Naomi Long and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Hilary Benn
I also spoke yesterday with UK Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood; we discussed recent events across Northern Ireland and the ongoing need for cross border cooperation and continued focus on protecting the Common Travel Area.
Ireland and the United Kingdom have a shared responsibility and a shared interest in protecting the CTA. It offers great advantages to our people on a social and economic level. The invisible border on the island of Ireland is among the most tangible gains of the peace process and is essential to the continuing normalisation of relationships.
At the UK Ireland Summit in March it was agreed that further steps would be taken to ensure that the CTA remains secure by working together to expand immigration data sharing arrangements, particularly in preventing abuse of CTA free movement by those not entitled to its benefits.
