LONDON - An influx of asylum seekers into Ireland from the UK is evidence that London’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda is acting as a deterrent, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said.

Ireland’s Minister for Justice Helen McEntee told a parliamentary committee this week that she estimated around 80 per cent of those applying for asylum in her country came over the land border with Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom.

Mr Sunak told Sky News, in comments released on April 27 but that were set to air on April 28, that it showed his controversial plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was “already having an impact” as a deterrent.

“Illegal migration is a global challenge, which is why you’re seeing multiple countries talk about doing third country partnerships,” Mr Sunak told Sky News.

“But what it also shows, I think, is that the deterrent is... already having an impact because people are worried about coming here,” he added.

“If people come to our country illegally but know that they won’t be able to stay, they’re much less likely to come, and that’s why the Rwanda scheme is so important.”

The Rwanda Bill cleared its final parliamentary hurdle on April 22, after a marathon tussle between the upper and lower chambers of Parliament lasting late into the night.

Mr Sunak hopes the Bill will prevent asylum seekers from trying to enter the UK illegally by making small boat crossings of the English Channel from northern Europe.

Immigration is set to be a key issue in a general election due in 2024, with Mr Sunak’s Tories currently languishing in the polls. AFP