Sinn Féin MP Orfhlaith Begley has condemned plans by the British Home Secretary Priti Patel to put a refugees on a remote island in the Atlantic Sea.
The West Tyrone MP said:
“In all of its wisdom, the British Government are currently considering holding asylum seekers and refugees on Ascension Island over 4,000 miles away from our island.
“Refugees are some of the most vulnerable members of our society, they are seeking asylum from places of crisis – we must do all that we can to support them, not cast them across the Atlantic sea.
“This proposal is cruel and reminiscent of Irish people being cast to Van Diemen’s Land in the centuries gone by.
“The people of Ireland know only too well the realities of being forced abroad to find a better quality of life – whether it is due to socio-economic factors, conflict or famine.
“The British Home Secretary Priti Patel must catch herself on and immediately bin this heartless and inhumane plan of forcing refugees out to distant lands.”
