International Protection Bill 2026: Committee Stage
Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-18
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Michael McDowell (IND), National University of Ireland

They have been told that this migration pact was the answer to all our problems and would speed things up, whereas, as far as I know, none of the people who travel through the UK has ever, at Carrickarnon or anywhere else on the Border, applied for asylum. This goes to the heart of the matter. The public is told this is a miracle solution to all of our problems because all of these people to whom this procedure applies will be dealt with in 12 weeks. However, they will not because the courts will be invoked almost immediately, I am sure. Even if we leave out the courts, my understanding is that we are dealing here with a procedure that is not available if somebody just applies in Dublin. I ask the Minister to give a yes or no answer to this question. Is someone who crosses the Border from the United Kingdom and applies for asylum in Dublin capable or not of being dealt with under the asylum border procedure and does or does not the 12-week examination period apply to such people?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-03-18/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:44+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-18