Liam Tunney
Today at 06:41
More than half of NI voters would prefer immigration checks on asylum seekers entering the Republic of Ireland to take place at NI ports rather than on the land border, a new poll has revealed.
The question formed part of the LucidTalk spring 2024 NI ‘Tracker’ Poll, which was carried out between May 10-13.
Respondents were asked to select where they would prefer immigration checks on migrants seeking asylum in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) to take place, choosing between the “Irish Sea border” and the land border between NI and ROI.
More than half (52%) indicated they would prefer that these checks took place at ports as migrants were entering NI, while just over a third (37%) felt they should take place on the island’s land border.
Immigration has become a controversial issue within Irish politics, with a number of right-wing candidates on the ballot for June’s European election placing the issue front and centre of their campaigns.
It was also the cause of a disagreement between the UK and Irish Governments over the return of migrants to the UK, with the Irish Government currently preparing legislation to allow returns to continue in future.
Unsurprisingly, support for having checks at the “Irish Sea Border” was overwhelming among nationalist respondents, with 91% indicating this as their preferred option.
Over three-quarters (78%) of unionist respondents indicated they would like the checks to take place on the land border.
Just under two-thirds (64%) of constitutionally neutral voters would prefer checks at ports, while around one-tenth (13%) felt those checks should be on Ireland’s land border.
The poll responses also revealed that more than a third (39%) of people in NI feel the Irish Government should introduce an immigration scheme similar to the UK Government’s plan to send illegal migrants to Rwanda.
Under the UK plan, asylum seekers who arrived in the UK after January 1, 2022, could face deportation to the African nation.
Last week, NI’s High Court ruled that large parts of the Illegal Migration Act — in which the Rwanda scheme was included — could not apply in NI as they breach human rights laws.
Almost half (48%) of respondents said they would not support plans to introduce a similar scheme in ROI.
When the figures were broken down by socio-economic group, they indicated that 50% of working-class respondents were in favour of introducing a similar scheme, while a third (33%) of middle-class respondents were in favour.
Just over a tenth (12%) of nationalist voters were in favour of the idea, compared with almost three-quarters (74%) of unionist voters indicating they would like to see the scheme implemented in the Republic.
Of those who identified as constitutionally neutral, just 10% were in favour, while 82% were against introducing the plans.
The highest percentage of support for the idea was among those aged 25-34 and 45-54 (both 43%), while the highest percentage of those against the plan was in the 18-24 age group (53%).
by columboscoat
4 comments
Unionists will have a stroke if there is Irish immigration enforcement on their Ryan Air flight.
Imagine polling something this stupidly obvious..
This is going to be a very difficult bridge for SF to cross. Their voter base in the free-state is more likely than any other party than Aontú to support land border checks.
