A spokesman for Mr Harris said the taoiseach had asked Ms McEntee “to bring proposals to cabinet next week to amend existing law regarding the designation of safe ‘third countries’ and allowing the return of inadmissible international protection applicants to the UK”, Irish broadcaster RTÉ reported on Saturday.
That’s why I’ll have emergency legislation at cabinet this week to make sure that we can effectively return people to the UK and that’s why I’ll be meeting with the home secretary [James Cleverly] to raise these issues on Monday."
A spokesman for the Irish Department of Justice told BBC News NI that “the issue of irregular movement within the CTA” - the Common Travel Area between Britain and Ireland - would be discussed at the ministers’ meeting.
On Sky News on Sunday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was asked whether Mr Martin’s comments showed the UK was “exporting the problem”.
It comes as Home Office figures showed some 500 migrants had crossed the English Channel over two days - with 141 people arriving on Friday and 359 on Saturday, in a total of 10 small boats.
Mr Sunak told Sky News that illegal migration was a “global problem” and said many countries were looking to replicate “third-country partnerships” similar to the agreement struck between the UK and Rwanda.
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