24th March 2003

PRESS RELEASE

GREEN PARTY BACK'S UNHCR's CALL FOR CHANGES IN IMMIGRATION BILL

The Green Party has called for changes in the Immigration Bill, which is due to come before the Dáil later this month.

Green Party Justice spokesperson, Ciarán Cuffe TD, said today, "We want the clauses dealing with carrier's liability to be dropped. This Bill places the onus on people who are not trained in immigration procedures to make decisions on whether or not people have the correct documentation to travel. Asylum seekers often don't have the necessary papers with them when fleeing their country, in what are often life-threatening situations."

"This leads to people in desperate circumstances taking desperate measures. They will be vulnerable to abuse by human traffickers. If these concerns are not addressed we could well see a repeat of the appalling container deaths of 2001 in Rosslare, Co Wexford where four Turkish immigrants perished."

"We want the Immigration Bill to be presented to the Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's rights so that non-governmental agencies (NGOs) can air their views on the problems with the proposed legislation."

INFORMATION

Ciarán Cuffe TD 618 3082 / 087 265 2075

ccuffe@oireachtas.ie /www.ciarancuffe.com

Stephen Rawson Press Officer 618 4088 / 087 235 7551