The rights of EU citizens to move freely between member states are being abused by those involved in sham marriages, the Minister of Justice has said.
Addressing an EU Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg last week, Minister Alan Shatter highlighted irregular patterns of marriage in Ireland that involved EU citizens and third-country nationals exercising freedom of movement rights.
“Free movement is a fundamental right for citizens of the EU,” the minister said. “However, evidence is emerging in Ireland that this very fundamental right of all EU citizens is being abused by those seeking to circumvent proper immigration controls on entering the union.”
Minister Shatter notes that last year “almost 400 applications for residence were lodged in Ireland by non-EEA nationals on foot of their marriage to Latvian nationals. The non EEA nationals in question were from Pakistan and, to a lesser degree, Ukraine and India.”
Metro Éireann understands that of those 400 applications, 255 were from the three countries mentioned: 173 from Pakistani nationals, 53 from Indians and 33 from Ukrainians.
On plans to tackle the issue head-on, Minister Shatter said that while “there is no magic bullet to deal with this issue”, he has instructed his officials to introduce provisions against “immigration-related marriages of convenience and sham marriages” in the long-awaited Immigration, Resid-ence and Protection Bill, which he intends to re-introduce to the Dáil shortly.
The minister praised gardaí for their work in tackling sham marriages which, according to him, has resulted in arrests.
Meanwhile, organisations working with immigrants have described the minister’s comments as “a smokescreen” for “more important issues”.
Killian Forde, CEO of The Integration Centre, said: “If people are free to marry who they choose, and they are free to move around the EU – how can the minister call it an abuse when they are acting within their legal and human rights?”
He added: “I would argue that the minister is using this highly contentious issue as a smokescreen for the far more important issues that he is slow to address.”
Forde noted that the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill has been almost a decade in the making, urging the minister to announce a timetable for bill if he is serious.
In addition, Forde highlighted a number of issues within the bill “which could have unfathomable consequences for immigrants in Ireland.
“Section 59 allows for the summary removal of undocumented immigrants. This would mean that if a member of the Garda or an immigration officer deemed an immigrant illegal, they could then be deported with immediate effect,” he said.
