Nick Delehanty says law permitting seizure of asylum seekers’ cash and phones could be useful ‘deterrent’

Independent presidential hopeful Nick Delehanty says he would be open to a law that would allow authorities to seize cash and valuables such as smartphones from people seeking international protection.

Mr Delehanty, who is lobbying councils for their support to get on the ballot for this year’s presidential election, said he feels the law would be a “deterrent” to economic migrants who try to apply for asylum in Ireland.

It is based on controversial legislation in other European countries, including a measure passed by the Danish parliament in 2016. It gave authorities the power to confiscate valuable items worth more than roughly €1,340 to pay for the cost of accommodating migrants. Mr Delehanty has previously expressed his admiration for the law.

Discussing his support for a similar measure in Ireland, Mr Delehanty says that under such a law the likelihood would be that “you actually end up taking nothing from anybody”.

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“What it is is a deterrent. Because if somebody is coming in and they have an iPhone, and they’re just coming in for purely economic reasons, they don’t apply [for international protection]. It just raises the bar. The goal of an asylum system should be to help the most neediest people in the world,” he told The Irish Times.

Asked about people in Gaza who would also have high-value items such as smartphones, Mr Delehanty said: “Yep, that’s a good point ...”

But he added that he still wanted to “have the debate” and “socialise” ideas such as the proposed law. Mr Delehanty also wants a debate about a ban on facial coverings for those working in State-funded roles. He said he believes Muslim women in Ireland should also be obliged to shake hands with men, despite the fact it is considered haram (forbidden) in Islam.

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The presidential hopeful also said the State should publish crime statistics broken down by ethnicity and immigration status. When asked whether he had a theory that he thinks would be proven correct if those statistics were published, he said: “No, no, no, no. I’m just calling for ultimate transparency.”