Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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3. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the progress that has been made on securing a bilateral agreement with Britain to ensure that those international protection applicants who should be processed in Britain can be returned there in a timely manner; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49648/26]

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I will return to the issue of a bilateral returns policy with Britain. The Minister and other Ministers have put on the record of the House on numerous occasions their belief that between 80% and 90% of international protection applicants are travelling here via the common travel area. It would be useful if the House could get a report on any progress that has been made on securing a bilateral arrangement with Britain.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy. Since the previous occasion that the Deputy and I engaged across the House on these questions, the International Protection Act has commenced. It commenced on 12 June. These are very early stages. We are not even three weeks into it but the statistics I am seeing show that the number of asylum applicants coming to Ireland is down considerably. I do not want it to be understood that will inevitably continue, but that is the case in the very early days of the scheme. I believe the reason it is happening is because of the increased powers in the International Protection Act, including the ability to search the baggage and luggage of individuals who come here to find documentation. We have found a lot of documentation, such as UK driving licences and passports. It is a much more vigorous system. Notwithstanding the fact that the Deputy opposed it, it is improving the situation for us at present.

On the situation with the UK, it was the case that 90% of applicants or more were coming in directly at the port and coming over the Border. That has reduced according to the figures over the past two and a half weeks but, again, it is very early stages. It is in the region of 78% of much smaller numbers. It is going in the right direction. I spoke to the Home Secretary on 15 June after that appalling attack in Belfast and the appalling racist riots afterwards. I emphasised three things. There needs to be greater data sharing between the UK and Ireland. The UK wants that. It wants to get data that we have access to in the EU. We said that we need to have more policing operations on the Border. That will happen. As the Deputy knows, and I keep asking Sinn Féin to emphasise this, the common travel area is only for the benefit of the citizens of Ireland and the UK. We also discussed the issue of returns.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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The question was what progress has been made on a returns policy and only in his last four words did the Minister mention "the issue of returns".

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I will come back to it.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I would appreciate if the Minister would outline what progress has been made. He outlined that individuals have had British passports and driving licences in their possession when they have applied for international protection. The Minister has no power to do anything about that because there is no bilateral returns policy in place. I love the Minister's confidence that international protection applicants have been following the passage of his legislation through the Oireachtas and awaiting the President's signature. The truth is that he knows there will be periods of time when the system comes under pressure. That is how the international protection system has operated to date and will likely operate again. The Minister has said in the House on numerous occasions that the vast majority have come across the Irish Sea using the common travel area.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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That is true.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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How is the Minister going to deal with that if he does not have an agreement in place on a returns policy?

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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There were examples where UK driving licences were found. The passports were not UK passports. The great benefit of the legislation, which, of course, transposed the pact, is that it does make returns much easier - not to the UK because we do not have an agreement with the UK but to other countries in the EU. That is the big advantage of it. Under the Dublin III regulation, as the Deputy is aware, we would have to get the permission of, say, Germany to send somebody back if they had applied in Germany. Now we do not need its permission. It is already agreed that we will send people back to Germany and the airport in all the countries is designated.

On the UK agreement, I have designated the UK a safe third country. I want to see operationalisation of an agreement between the UK and Ireland for returns. However, I cannot force the UK to recommence an agreement or to start accepting people back if it does not agree to do so. I have limited powers in what I can do. I can say I want to do it but I cannot force the Home Secretary or the British Government to enter into an agreement with us.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister knows that I and Sinn Féin support the returns regulation. The big contradiction in everything that the Minister has said is that the returns regulation is important in the context of the EU, but we will manage if we do not have it for the source of 80% or 90% of arrivals. I do not know if the Minister is willing to give a percentage now because a lot of it is pure conjecture and speculation on his part.

The Minister says he cannot reach an agreement if the British Government is not willing to agree. Is that the state of play? I have asked for an update. Is the update that the British Government is refusing to enter into negotiations-----

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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No.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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-----or is holding back? If the Minister wants it and says that the British Government is not refusing, where is the delay in securing a bilateral arrangement? Does he accept that designating Britain a safe third country is pointless if we do not have a returns agreement in place? What proviso or mechanism in law will the Minister use to implement returns if there is no bilateral agreement?

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I do not believe it is pointless designating the UK a safe third country. That is what it is. The Deputy is aware of the politics of the United Kingdom probably just as well as anyone else in this House. There are considerable issues of sensitivity in the UK around accepting returns from other countries. The Deputy knows that. It is an issue of political sensitivity. I have spoken to the Home Secretary. I invited her to the informal meeting of the ports alliance on 16 July. We spoke shortly after the riots in Belfast. The reason that was of particular interest to her was because the suspect in that case was somebody who had landed at Dublin Airport, coming from Luxembourg, claimed asylum in Dublin and then left Dublin the very same day for Belfast. The next day in Belfast, he claimed asylum there. I said to the Home Secretary that this is an example of why we need a returns agreement in place.