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NEW RESEARCH ON immigration related detention and border control in Ireland has highlighted a number of areas of concern, particularly in relation to people who are refused entry to the country and who are subsequently held in prisons here for a number of days before deportation.
The report by Nasc, the Migrant and Refugee Rights Centre, is based on more than two years of research and includes interviews with migrants and asylum seekers who were detained due to refusals of permission to enter the country, as well as those detained as protection applicants and pending deportation.
People refused permission to land in Ireland can be detained in a garda station or in a prison on the sole authority of an immigration officer or a member of the gardaí, without the need for any judicial approval of detention.
The report published today points out that the continuing Irish practice of holding immigration detainees in penal institutions is a subject of international criticism.
It also expressed concern about the long periods of time that people are effectively detained in the airport, despite the fact that it is not a designated place of detention.
Given the absence of legal safeguards and basic rights, such as access to a lawyer, medical treatment, lack of a real and substantial review of a decision, these detained in the airport, especially those held for protracted periods of time, are effectively detained in a no man’s land and in a setting that sits outside the law.
Some detainees appear not to have been put on the next available flight, despite being aware that there were several flights back to their airport of origin that day, and in two cases included in the research, they had offered to pay for their own fare.
Case studies
A young Somali man was held for five hours at the airport before being transferred to Cloverhill Prison. He was refused leave to land because immigration officers at Dublin Airport did not believe he was in Ireland as a tourist, despite his being scheduled to fly back to the Scandinavian country where he had refugee status two weeks later.
In this man’s case, there was no flight back to the Scandinavian country from which he had travelled to Ireland that day. He was told he might be removed two days later, on Thursday. He offered to buy his own ticket back home, but was informed “that’s not how it works”.
Two men from Hong Kong were refused leave to land at Dublin Airport and held werethere from 11pm until 10am the following day. They were given food and water in the morning, but said they’d had to ask for it.
“They didn’t offer. We complain the room was too cold. When we complain, they ask us if we eat something.”
They said they had to sleep on hard chairs and no blankets were provided. Even though they travelled from Hong Kong via London and were told they would be removed to London, they had been detained for more than 48 hours at the time of interview. The two detainees did not understand why they were not sent back to London immediately:
“You have no right to lock us up. We didn’t do anything wrong. You already locked me up 50 hours.”
Another detainee, from Ukraine, flew on his Romanian passport (considered a fake by immigration authorities) from Bucharest and had a return flight booked for ten days later.
“It is my first time in prison. I am very frightened. There have been many flights every day. Why is it taking so long? For three days I am here,” he told researchers.
‘Inappropriately detained’
The report notes it is “of serious concern” that individuals detained as a result of a refusal of leave to land are not always returned on the earliest flight to their airport of origin or a connecting hub.
“This, as a result, means that these individuals can inappropriately be detained in prisons pending their removal from the state for varying periods of time. If there are other reasons that a person’s removal cannot be affected as soon as possible, this needs to be communicated to the individual as soon as that decision is made and in a language which they can reasonably be expected to understand,” it said.
Nasc CEO Fiona Finn said overall the research had found that not much has changed with immigration related detention since the last report on this issue in 2005.
However, while the numbers of people detained for immigration related reasons is relatively low in Ireland, and is in fact decreasing, the numbers of people refused leave to land and subsequently detained is on the rise. This is particularly worrying given the global humanitarian crisis and the record number of displaced people around the globe.”
“We need to ensure that people who are being refused leave to land are being given every opportunity to access the asylum process if that is what they require, and that Ireland is not at risk of violating its international obligations of non-refoulement in returning people to their place of origin.”
“We also need to ensure that those who are being detained are not having their human rights infringed, particularly at ports of entry and in Garda stations, where our research showed that detainees were often left in situations without access to their mobile phones, access to a solicitor or information about the asylum process, access to medical treatment, or access to interpreter services to understand fully what was happening to them,” she said.
Work on a dedicated immigration detention centre at Dublin Airport is due to be completed later this year.
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Whilst obviously not nice, it is a role of passport control at the airport to monitor those arriving and deny entry to those with insufficient funds or who may be traveling on a fake passport etc.
Of course people should be treated with courtesy and respect at all times and removed from the State as soon as possible. But it would be negligent of the Gardai to let everyone in, for fear of upsetting a tiny minority.
@Ruairi Gagarin: What a pointless comment. Nobody is suggesting letting everyone in. The article is about the way people are treated when denied entry. And it’s not about “upsetting a tiny minority.” It’s about making sure that the human rights of all people are respected.
@Dᴇʀᴇᴋ Wᴀʟsʜ Ⓥ: hmmm well given the reality of the state of services in this country where the actual citizens who live here and pay taxes for a lifetime can end up more than 48 hours on a trolley seeking healthcare I think we need to give some priority to address the services and facilities available on the island for our own citizens and legal residents Already living here before spending too much time money or effort being outraged and concerned for those who travel here on false passports or without the correct documents or procedures.
@Dave Hammond: excellent point. I wonder is Nasc government funded and who paid for the “more than two years of research” it took to come to the conclusion ““We need to ensure that people who are being refused leave to land are being given every opportunity to access the asylum process if that is what they require”, so basically, anyone who manages to get a flight to Ireland can apply for asylum. And will be coached on how to get through the 5 year process by taxpayer funded Nasc while being legally represented, housed, fed and given priority healthcare that a low- paid Irish taxpayer or pensioner could only dream of.
@Dave Hammond: Again, you’re talking about a different topic. We don’t have to choose between a working healthcare system and a working border control. It’s possible to have both, and it’s possible to care about both.
@Dave Hammond: well said Dave if I could give you a thousand thumbs up I would
@Dave Hammond: what have the trolley times got to do with the price of turnips?
This is about people getting deported, not allowed in. In the cases noted above, they were detained, at the state expense when they could have been sent back at an earlier time.
In one case, a detainee offered to pay for his own repatriation and wasn’t allowed so the state foots the bill.
Could you not have a bit of a think before rushing in with the ‘look after our own first’ rubbish
@Dᴇʀᴇᴋ Wᴀʟsʜ Ⓥ: should we put them up in a four star hotel before they get deported.
@Grasshopper: no, just deport them if they’re to be deported. Do it quickly and let them pay if they offer, don’t keep them in prison for days at an additional cost.
@Dara O’Brien: there should be s quick turnaround back on the plane none of the bullshit keeping them for a few days. Take a good look at Australia they have a great working system for deporting failed asylum seekers.
@Dara O’Brien: Yes Dara, I managed to read the article fully , give my opinion and make my point -so there was really no need to bother repeating the sentences or to bother explain their meaning like a condescending fool – but thanks anyway. If you have an opinion of your own or some point you wish to make on the subject – please be my guest – otherwise perhaps it is you that needs to have a ‘bit of a think’ before rushing in with banal comments.
@Dᴇʀᴇᴋ Wᴀʟsʜ Ⓥ: what about human rights of victims. That all human rights is about crying for predators not for victims. That what Ireland got by joining Europe . No borders no one applying for visa.
@Dave Hammond:. I totally agree, Dave
If they knew they were entitled to come, they should have stayed where they came from.
@Dᴇʀᴇᴋ Wᴀʟsʜ Ⓥ: Not entitled entry, stay where you came from!! Ireland is a soft touch.
@JimmyMc:
I suspect they were founded with money of the billionaire busybody Chuck Feeney.
They are now in receipt of money from George Soros.
@Dᴇʀᴇᴋ Wᴀʟsʜ Ⓥ:
“Nobody is suggesting letting everyone in”
Of course they are. Outfits like Nasc, the Immigrant Council, Sinn Fein etc have never met a foreign migrant they didn’t want to let in.
You’re truly ignorant.
@Dᴇʀᴇᴋ Wᴀʟsʜ Ⓥ: “We don’t have to choose between a working healthcare system and a working border control. It’s possible to have both”.
Aparently we don’t have either. I’ say we don’t get that choice.
It’a perfectly valid to say BOTH detainees and those on trollies in A&E are being denied basic human rights.
However, if we had the resources to improve one over the other, the preference for any Irish citizen would be to improve and provide better care in A&Es that treat patients that are in most cases Irish Citizens… because after all it’s the citizenry’s taxes that pay for those improvements, it’s only common sense they’d wish to benefit from them first.
Here’s a question and potential solution to this problem:
I wonder HOW MUCH money we send abroad in aid every year to other countries? I wonder how much aid we send every year to countries in Africa? How much money to we send to South Africa… where recentlty elected politicians IN POWER have legislated to take farm land (property) off white South Africans, based only because they are white? Why are we the tax payer financially underwriting that?
However, it looks like Irish citizens in hospitals will yet again take a back seat to the needs of non-citizens and pay for it with their taxes: “Work on a dedicated immigration detention centre at Dublin Airport is due to be completed later this year”
Yay! You win!
Entry is not refused frivolously. Those who arrive at our airports are well aware of where they have landed. The obvious question which must be asked is, why Ireland?
@John Campbell: Benefits lottery
@John Campbell: ‘They said they had to sleep on hard chairs and no blankets were provided. ’
Must have been in an ED
How about the difficulty deporting illegal migrants and the huge costs involved. The story of the Nigerian who now can’t be deported because he got a woman pregnant to avoid deportation, and the court’s have used the ludicrous reason of an “Irish child”.
@john bennett: nothing to do with the story ya daft racist
@Jas: Do explain to us where is John being racist in his comment.
@Phil Hegarty: Because all it takes is to mention someone from a non white country in a sentence to be considered a racist by bleeding heart lefties these days.
@Phil Hegarty: how can he when he obviously has no idea what the word means?
@Jas: are you special needs by any chance
@Jas: quick call him a racist because I have nothing else to say
@john bennett: to be fair she was as Irish girl so it’s a bit harsh to deport the babies dad. I just can’t see a way around that. We don’t allow anchor babies generally through, which some countries do.
@Phil Hegarty: these leftwing snowflakes can get upset very easily..just ignore it
@Jas:
The real racist here is YOU.
@Toomasu Sumitsu:
You show your ignorance. Of course Ireland allows anchor babies.
Don’t post if you’re ignorant on the topic.
@john bennett: pure nonsense. For over a decade now, being the parent of an Irish child is not guarantee of residency or citizenship.
But don’t let facts get in the way of racism. Lmao
@Jas: not a racist comment its a true fact ,your comment is out of ignorance
@john bennett: there are millions of Nigerians are we to take them all ?
“We need to ensure that people who are being refused leave to land are being given every opportunity to access the asylum process if that is what they require”……….. also known as the back door. If your refused entry, when only THEN claim your an asylum seeker. I’m sure Americans and Australians get refused entry but it’s always certain nationality’s being highlighted. If you can’t be sent back that day where else are you going to be held while waiting for a flight? The Hilton?
@Klark Quent: send them to A and E and after they experience 48 hours of that they will book their own flights back and tell their friends not to bother with Ireland at all. Win/win
@Dave Hammond: Jesus you’re boring Dave
@Graham Carrick: I know and your comment of Jesus ur boring was witty and insightful not something a 12 yo would say
@Graham Carrick: Do you have any opinion on the actual article or about the subject yourself Graham or do you just try and be insulting to people you disagree with ??
@Klark Quent:
They should be sent up to Aras an Uachtarain. Higgins loves migrant lawbreakers.
Ah the immigration racket. An easy money spinner for lawyers, who take cases againat the state to line their pockets, so they can live in big houses in gated communities, where they will never actually see an immigrant.
Good to see at least one government department doing a great job in sending back these lawbreakers. Well done these men and women and keep up the good work
@wacker macker: your comment made my day, you’re very welcome
@wacker macker:
” these lawbreakers ”
How, in the name of all the gods, can you break the laws of a country into which you are being denied entry?
Of course the research done by a leftist organization makes these people out to be victims. I mean come on, where does an asylum seeker get the money for a two week holiday? And if you’re suspected of flying on a fake passport the authorities have every right to detain you until the validity of the passport is found.
@Liam O Reilly:
A somali coming to Ireland for a holiday!
I told my cat and he is still laughing.
Nobody has a problem with refusing entry but we can treat people with respect and dignity, surely?
@Martin Byrne: How about they treat us with respect,not arriving here on fake passports ,for a start
@Martin Byrne: We can’t even get that for ourselves.
Why would the authorities hold them longer than required?
Did the researchers check if there was availability on the flights back?
How many were deported correctly compared to those that weren’t?
In saying that we should be treating people with respect!
@B9xiRspG: ah we should but you would have to wonder about these “researchers” / you have asked some very straight forward questions that should be included , these articles and research studies are part of a narrative that “ highlight” Ireland s approach to asylum and immigration etc you would really wonder how we run a country at all , we have a crisis and need reform in almost every major government department especially health homeless / housing / criminal justice / transportation etc etc and here we are being asked to stress about the way we treat people who illegally try enter the country ????
“Held there from 11pm until 10am the following day. They were given food and water in the morning, but said they’d had to ask for it.
“They didn’t offer. We complain the room was too cold. When we complain, they ask us if we eat something.”
They said they had to sleep on hard chairs and no blankets were provided….they had been detained for more than 48 hours at the time of interview.”
Sounds like a stay at a resort compared to how patients and their family members are treated in A&E departments in our so called centres of excellence public hospitals.
Imagine an article on the journal not being followed by comments from a load of WHINGERS. Like Jesus Christ, I’m an Irish person living abroad, and very proud to be Irish but honestly the comments on the journal are just a load of moany aul ones (especially the men, you’re the biggest aul ones of them all) Shut up like. Your opinion on the journal isn’t gonna make a blind bit of difference to the article, just read it and get on with your life. Moanbags.
@Lauren O’ Reilly: wow, that was the biggest moan of all, like.
@Lauren O’ Reilly: whisht up, Lauren’s giving it the big one. Tbf she is living abroad so must be talking sense.
@Lauren O’ Reilly:
Awwww, were you triggered?
@Lauren O’ Reilly: Well said Lauren, the same triggered Alt-Right Snowflakes who perpetuate the myth that Ireland has ‘open borders’, something that exists nowhere in the world. Hopefully this article will shut them up and let them get back to their saucers of sour milk.
@Lauren O’ Reilly: Glad you’re not living here in case i asked you out by mistake.
@Father Hody Commody: Be the same answer as always I’m sure. No.
@Michael Knight: alt right snowflakes? What a contradiction. That’s like saying illegal economic migrants are fleeing persecution. Back to school Michael, your jig is up.
@KingBen: Fully accurate, used to be about whiny PC liberals, now the Alt-Right have taken the crown. You’re doing some sterling work yourself I might at!
@Michael Knight: But you are a whiny PC liberal, of course you are not going to admit you and your friends are snowflakes. Anyway, school is open, get yourself into class.
@Lauren O’ Reilly: well said moany o reilly
I am happy that imigration are preventing illegal entry into the country. Too many people using pur very generous appeal system once they get on. NGO s depend on this sysyem to keep them in cushy jobs at taxpayer’s expense. Lawyers are part of this lucrative business also.
Should Ireland…
1-Close their borders to foreigners all together and become a fascist country?
2-Keep all the resources and not share with any other country? (potatoes)
3-Stop taking any refugees at all and the cost of it invest it in “it’s own people’s” health system?
4-kick all the foreigners out (human capital that makes Ireland so Valuable), also foreign companies of course and eat lots of potatoes bread, butter and porridge as a consequence?
Irish people have been emigrating to Australia, America, Europe and many other countries of the World for centuries… should Irish people be treated like the immigrants or tourists in this article? should the Irish immigrants living in other countries like Australia, America, Spain, Thailand…. be kicked out back to Ireland on suspicion of abusing the system or fake passports?
All I’m trying to say is that the world is a small place today, and there are lots of people dying of hunger in Africa, Mayonmar, India… and being boomed in Syria, Lebanon, Terrorised in London, US, Afganistan… and all we care is about our little world and that we do not have to wait on A&E for too long, and I get that ! and also we should care about the rest of the world a bit more and be more humane, and help others in need when possible, be kind and welcoming, it does not take much some times, a blanket, a bottle of water, a bit of food…. this is not an add for Concen or UNICEF, it’s just a sentiment from one human being living on the planet Earth.
You can now go ahead and joke critizise slag my comments, you know this is all true and that is the worst of it.
@Jimmi Dockers: The Irish people don’t owe foreigners anything. Also, who’s advocating the kicking out of foreigners in Ireland?
@Jimmi Dockers: bottle of water! A blanket! A bit of food! What world are you in? They’re getting more than the Irish not to mention the Irish homeless, for the love of god will you do some research before you start blabbering stupid comments out! Take a few of them into your house and come back and tell us your story then! Goodluck
@Jimmi Dockers: I got to “1-Close their borders to foreigners all together and become a fascist country?” The idiocy of that line made me stop reading. The article is based on the detention and treatment of people who fly here with no or false documentation. Your jump to closing the borders and becoming fascist is breathtakingly stupid
@Liam O Reilly: for starters 44.5bn to IMF. I’m just questioning, no stating anything, but you’re free to criticise and joke and slag me and my comments if that makes you feel more intelligent and sleep better at night.
@jonny o donnell: I live in the same world as you do, but obviously I see it with different eyes.
@JimmyMc: you’re free to express your opinion and thoughts, but insulting is just a lesser form of intelligence I think.
@Jimmi Dockers: Fair enough. But considering we are members of the EU and a free travel area, enlighten us how you got to closing the borders to foreigners altogether and becoming a fascist country?
@Jimmi Dockers: closed ones?
@Jimmi Dockers: Yes, to the IMF, not foreigners wishing to come to Ireland.
@Jimmi Dockers:
Offensive nonsense. You should apologize to Irish people. We have 20% foreign migrant population. Do you never leave the house?
This is nonsense. Obviously countless foreign migrants have entered the state successfully. As always, there is a pressure group of Irish people whining and complaining. The vast majority of us want even more scrutiny of foreign migrants. Already foreigners outnumber Irish people if you walk around Dublin’s Northside. Maybe four to one.
The Irish nation has a right to exist. Groups like Nasc have nothing to; offer,
Couldn’t we fit out Spike Island to house these people, and indeed all asylum seekers?
That way the good people of places like Lisdonvarna would not have to deal with them.
Alternatively, open centres in Malahide, Dalkey, Glenageary, or Montenotte.
The people in those areas really value diversity. They’ve been denied their chance to meet with migrants from a hundred different countries.
Happens in every country in the world
But if it happens here we are racist ‘ non conforming etc etc
I totally agree with people landing here without the proper documentation etc being held in either prison cells or otherwise
We are a soft touch for these kinda people and need to get tough
Sorry… what part of this am I missing.. seriously ! It is not easy to get a Visa to come to Ireland from outside exempted countries.There is a lot of form filling and interviews at the Embassy in your country of origin if you do not fit the safe mould of having funds (proof needed) , a job to go back to, (proof) a home, (copy bills in your name) family in your own country and a return ticket, and even then they can refuse, so you do not travel without one, and even then it is at the discretion of the immigration officer on landing. So how can these people arrive ? Are they not asked to show the Visa at the departing airport ? I cannot fly from Dublin to.. example Moscow, without having a Visa, I would not be let on the flight . This is a genuine question , not a smart Alec one !
Border controls are as essential as the air we breath
So a Ukrainian on a fake Romanian passport was sent home?
Turn up in Kiev with a fake passport and you’d be very lucky to get home that quick.
Well is just a question, seeing that foreigners and immigrants and refugees are such a burden for the Irish economy apparently… the UK is in the process of doing it, and I have seen more improbable things to happen, perhaps I went a bit extream on the fascist part… I admit that, but it only takes a referendum to flip the pancake.
@Jimmi Dockers: the UK is in the process of closing their borders to foreigners all together?
@Jimmi Dockers: Jimmi – a lot of your comment is just not really an accurate reflection of what is happening in Ireland and the world. Ireland as a country has a very good track record reaching out internationally into many parts of the world that are in most need , we have a lot of volunteers and agencies like GOAL and Trocaire doing amazing efforts in difficult conditions – we spend a % of our GDP on international aid – it is small as a %- but it is into million and millions of euro in actual overseas aid , we have direct provision centres for asylum seekers – there are some challenges but take a look at one – say the mosney centre , there are warm safe sleeping facilities , washing machines , shared kitchen areas etc – so ireland does not only care about the wait time in A+E while the world turns , I specifically raised A+E in my comments because it is todays big news ‘crisis’ and in Ireland we are truly awful at joined up thinking – at the end of the day these people who are making their way to Ireland illegally are not being treated any worse than people who illegally try enter any other major developed country. If you land in Australia or America you do not have immediate ‘access to basic rights such as a layer and medical treatment’ as this article suggests -this is trying to portray things as if Ireland is in some way way out of the norm for people entering the country illegally . It is not.
Well, thank you for educating me Dave, much appreciated. Let’s hope that Ireland and other countries continue their humanitarian help for those who need it when possible, not just with cash but with platforms to develop themselves and opportunities, foreigners that nock at the door and nationals whom also may need help.
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