The Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, has been urged to locate Irish immigration officers at European ports to check trailers and containers which may be transporting asylum-seekers to Ireland.
According to the Fine Gael spokesman on justice, Mr Jim Higgins, the Dublin Convention stipulates that asylum-seekers should have their application for asylum processed in the first EU state in which they arrive.
"It is obvious that a large percentage of those seeking asylum in Ireland arrive here via another European country and have not applied for aslyum in France, Great Britain, etc., as is required by international convention. In view of the fact that all EU countries are party to the Dublin Convention, there should not be any objection to Irish officials being located at various ferry ports to carry out vehicle inspection," Mr Higgins said.