Up to 90% of Ireland’s asylum seekers may have entered from Northern Ireland, data shows

Without physical checks on the Irish border, neither the UK nor Irish governments can verify the precise numbers of people crossing the border illegally. Photograph: Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters

Up to 90% of asylum seekers in Ireland may have entered the country via the Northern Ireland land border in the last three years, figures suggest.

Irish government data shows the common travel area (CTA) is being exploited in both directions but suggests it may be more popular for those seeking asylum in Ireland than in the UK.