Iraqi stowaways found in Rosslare seek asylum

Two Iraqi men discovered hiding in a trailer on a car ferry at Rosslare on Monday night have applied for asylum in the Republic.

The two men boarded the Rosslare-bound ferry at Cherbourg, France, on Monday. They were found shortly after the boat docked at the Co Wexford port at around 9 p.m.

Members of the Garda National Immigration Bureau were performing routine stowaway checks on trucks which had travelled on the boat, when they heard voices coming from a trailer.

When the lorry was opened, they discovered the two men inside. The trailer was a "soft side" model and air could circulate around the trailer, ensuring there was no danger of suffocation.

The men, aged 35 and 21, were given medical attention at the scene. While their condition was described as weak, they did not require hospital treatment and were escorted from Rosslare port by gardaí.

They were then provided with emergency accommodation by the South Eastern Health Board and were interviewed by members of the immigration bureau and Wexford gardaí yesterday.

The men applied for asylum and were expected to travel to Dublin as early as last night to begin the process.

Garda sources said the circumstances surrounding the men's arrival in the State and details of their journey from Iraq to France would be investigated fully.

Fine Gael's spokesman on justice, Mr Jim O'Keeffe TD, said unless Garda patrols on car ferries coming from France were restored to their previous levels, the numbers of refugees attempting to enter Ireland in truck trailers would increase. In November 2000, when the 1996 Refugee Act came into force, gardaí began travelling on all vessels serving France, vetting passengers as they boarded in Cherbourg.

Mr O'Keeffe said if the crossing became known in refugee circles as a "soft touch" to get from France to Ireland, more and more would attempt the crossing.

This might lead to a repeat of the "tragic" events of December 2001, when eight Turkish nationals were found dead in a trailer which had entered the State by ferry.

However, the director of the Irish Refugee Council, Mr Peter O'Mahony, said the number of asylum seekers travelling to Ireland on ferries now represented a "tiny percentage" of the total number entering the State.