The only Garda unit dedicated to policing illegal migration across the border with Northern Ireland has been “all but disbanded” in recent years.
The Dundalk-based Immigration Border Control Unit, which works closely with the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB), was set up in 2004 with the goal of conducting checks on buses, trains and cars for illegal immigration.
At its height it had 12 gardaí. However, in recent years the unit’s strength has dwindled to just two members. They are office bound, meaning they are generally unable to conduct checks in the field, policing sources said.
As a result, GNIB members must routinely travel from Dublin to conduct dozens of Border checks per month. These are mainly intelligence-led checks focused on buses and trains crossing the Border.
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In reply to queries, the Garda said there were “up to 300 checks per month depending on circumstances”.
Immigration controls on the Border have come into sharp focus since comments from Minister for Justice Helen McEntee last week that 80 per cent of asylum seekers are now coming over the border from Northern Ireland, a figure which has been disputed in some quarters.
The number of people applying for international protection in Ireland has risen sharply in 2024. More than 6,000 people had applied for asylum by April 12th. More than 2,000, a third of those, are Nigerian.
A standoff has developed between the British and Irish governments on the issue. Department of Justice officials are drafting legislation to allow asylum seekers arriving from Northern Ireland to be immediately returned to the UK. But London has said it will not accept their return.
The Dundalk unit was set up to police the busiest land border crossing into the State. It worked in two shifts, each manned by a sergeant and five gardaí. However, over the years, its numbers dwindled.
The two remaining members are responsible for registering asylum applicants who come into the Garda station and are generally unable to conduct checks in the field.
There are no permanent immigration checkpoints on the Border, meaning ad hoc checkpoints by gardaí and UK Border Force are the only method of detecting illegal immigration.
“The Dundalk unit was considered a success story but was allowed to wither on the vine and now it’s all but disbanded,” said a Garda source.
Over the years, the Immigration Border Control Unit has detected large numbers of irregular migrants, resulting in them being sent back to the UK. In many cases, they had first sought asylum in the UK before travelling to Ireland.
In the first half of 2006, 570 people were caught by the unit attempting to illegally enter the Republic, a large increase on the previous year.
A cross-Border initiative, called Operation Sonnet, was later established in co-operation with UK authorities.
In 2018, then minister for justice Charlie Flanagan said there were 91 detections in 2015, 27 detections in 2016, and 22 detections in 2017 under Operation Sonnet.
This was done by checking the passports and identity documents of people travelling south to monitor for abuses of the Common Travel Area.
Non-UK or Irish nationals who were found to be entering illegally were typically put on a ferry back to the UK mainland.
On Tuesday, Ms McEntee announced the provision of additional gardaí to police immigration.
She said the Department of Justice would take over the registration of immigrants, which will make up to 100 gardaí available “for other immigration enforcement work, including deportations”.
An Garda Síochána did not respond to request for comment on the issue.
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