Professor Siobhán Mullally:

The chief commissioner has already said it is not her view that it is a pull factor, and research and evidence from elsewhere supports that. The chief commissioner made reference to the studies from the University of Warwick, which took place from 1997 through to 2016, where employment and access to it are not identified as a pull factor. Other reasons people might try to reach a particular location - those seeking protection often do not have those kinds of choices - are related to family and community links, language questions, respect for human rights and rule of law and perhaps colonial ties between one country and another. All the research consistently points to the reasons people might arrive in one destination rather than another are often linked to family and community networks, rather than specifically access to the labour market. There is not research or evidence supporting that. The University of Warwick studies are available. As the chief commissioner said, they are quantitative and qualitative, and have been ongoing since 1997. They identify other factors people might arrive in a particular destination, but we are talking about people who are seeking protection, who already have had significant difficulties in trying to leave their country and arrive in any destination because of the kinds of travel restrictions in place. They do not have those kinds of choices, but there is no evidence that access to the labour market is something that leads to an increase in asylum seekers.