Asylum seekers in the UK are leaving the country for the Republic of Ireland because they are “fearful” of being deported to Rwanda, the country’s foreign minister has claimed.
Micheal Martin, the former taoiseach, made the comments after the government in Dublin said that 80 per cent of all asylum seekers in the country had crossed the border from Northern Ireland.
Under the common travel area arrangement between the UK and Ireland, anyone can cross the Northern Irish border without having their documentation checked.
Martin said the problem had been growing since the policy had been announced, describing it as a “knee-jerk reaction” to the failure of the UK to control migration after Brexit.
The Rwanda policy was also criticised on Thursday by Emmanuel Macron,
