Common Travel Area
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-19
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Matt Carthy (SF), Cavan-Monaghan

You can try, Minister. That is what I am asking. What efforts have been made? I will touch on the designation of Britain as a safe third country. Let us assume the figures the Minister has given are accurate, although a lot of work needs to be done on the collection of data as to where IP applicants are coming from. Section 220 of the International Protection Bill 2026 requires the Minister to be satisfied that any proposed safe third country fully meets EU standards, particularly in relation to non-refoulement and access to a functional asylum system. Will the Minister outline the assessments that his Department has carried out as to the prospects of Britain meeting these criteria and how these will be assessed? Has analysis been carried out as to what happens if Britain does not meet statutory and EU requirements or if a legal challenge to such designation in the courts were to be successful? The Minister will agree that if the figures he has cited are anywhere close to the reality, this would create huge problems, which could potentially derail the entire system he intends to implement.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-19/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:45+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-19