Irish border is ‘wrong issue’ to focus on after Belfast stabbing – Taoiseach

By Rebecca Black and Gráinne Ní Aodha, PA

The Irish border is the “wrong issue” to focus on in the wake of the Belfast stabbing, the Taoiseach has said as he questioned whether asylum processes complemented one another.

Micheál Martin said authorities in Ireland, Northern Ireland and the UK needed to “work together” to ensure the asylum system was not exposed and is “more robust”.

The man accused of stabbing Stephen Ogilvie in north Belfast last week claimed asylum in Northern Ireland in 2023 having arrived in the region on a bus from Dublin.

He was granted leave to remain in the UK until 2028.

My own view is that people got the wrong issue here, it’s not necessarily the border is the problem hereMicheál Martin

The case has prompted increased political scrutiny of the Common Travel Area (CTA) – a century-old arrangement that allows for the free movement of Irish and UK citizens across the island’s free-flowing border.

On Friday, Downing Street confirmed that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Martin spoke on the phone about the CTA, after Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn and Stormont Justice Minister Naomi Long discussed the CTA by phone on Wednesday.

Martin said in Dublin on Monday: “We had a discussion on Friday in relation to the broader issue, we both reaffirmed our commitment to the Common Travel Area but the Minister for Justice will be speaking to the Home Secretary on the issue.

“The situation works both ways, people will abuse the Common Travel Area. What is important is that there is data sharing, intelligence sharing, and that the PSNI and An Garda Síochána work together and that the British police and An Garda Síochána with PSNI all work together in terms of this, and also to keep a rigorous focus on this.

“My own view is that people got the wrong issue here, it’s not necessarily the border is the problem here, I think the issue is the complementarity in respect of processes around asylum seekers. That’s the critical piece here.

“There will be, by definition, within the Common Travel Area, people travelling both ways. We do need to be vigilant about that and we need to work together to make sure that the asylum system is not exposed and that it’s more robust.”

The Taoiseach also emphasised the importance of data sharing and the facts of the stabbing in Belfast.

“The pattern for migration to the Republic has changed over the last number of years, the checks in airports and so on have been very strong and the increasing evidence is there are less and less coming through here.

“There are quite a number coming through the north, but equally it can work the other way as well and no one has a hard factual basis for it, that is why it’s absolutely imperative that we have very proactive and intense co-ordination between the British and Irish governments because the Common Travel Area is so important to our citizens.”