Earlier in the week, Ms McEntee told a committee of the Oireachtas there had been a rise in the number of people crossing the land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, with this now making up 80% of the total number of asylum seekers.
In response to her comments, Mr Martin said the UK government’s Rwanda policy meant people were “fearful” of staying in the UK and were crossing the border to the Republic so they would not be sent to Rwanda. Mr Martin, who also serves as Ireland’s foreign minister, has spoken of his opposition to the policy.
On Sky News on Sunday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was asked whether Mr Martin’s comments showed the UK was “exporting the problem”.
Mr Sunak replied: “The deterrent is – according to your comment – already having an impact, because people are worried about coming here and that demonstrates exactly what I’m saying: if people come to our country illegally, but know that they won’t be able to stay, they’re much less likely to come.”
It comes as Home Office figures showed some 500 migrants had crossed the English Channel over two days – with 141 people arriving on Friday and 359 on Saturday, in a total of 10 small boats.
It brings the number of arrivals on small boats to 7,167 so far this year, which is higher compared to the same period the year before.
Mr Sunak told Sky News that illegal migration was a “global problem” and said many countries were looking to replicate “third-country partnerships” similar to the agreement struck between the UK and Rwanda.
A No 10 spokesperson had previously said it was “too early to jump to specific conclusions about the impact of the act and treaty in terms of migrant behaviour”.
The Safety of Rwanda Act, external, which aims to avoid further legal challenges to the policy by declaring Rwanda a safe country, was approved by MPs and peers this week and passed into law on Thursday – although the plan could still be held up by court challenges.
