Derek McDowell (Labour)

There is an interesting distinction to be made in this regard. I assume the Minister would claim the Immigration Bill, 2002, is intended to cut down on illegal immigration to this country. What he is not telling the House – and perhaps it follows logically from his comments – is that it is also intended to provide another rung to prevent people from seeking asylum in Ireland. That rung will not be provided by the immigration service, the Garda or other forces of the State, but by airlines. In effect, the Minister requires airlines to determine whether people are genuine asylum seekers. As Senator Tuffy has pointed out, many people seeking asylum do so on the basis of either having no documentation or having documentation which is forged, inaccurate or incomplete. That is quite commonplace, as the Minister is well aware. That is one of the difficulties in the Bill.