Irish blitz on immigrants
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• Tough new laws designed to tackle the smuggling of illega.1 immigrants into Ireland have been described as 'absurd" by the Irish Road Hauliers Association (IRHA).
The bill is a response to wholesale smuggling of illegals into Ireland, which is believed to have peaked during 1998.
But the IRHA says it has already signed a "memorandum of understanding' with Customs under which its members promise to be vigilant, to report anything suspicious, and to co-operate with Customs officers.
"Knee-jerk reactions are rarely the solution and one miscarriage of justice where an innocent owner-driver loses his business and goes to jail, would render this bill completely useless," says IRHA spokesman Jimmy Quinn. "tf high security took place at ports there would be no problem," says Quinn. "When Cherbourg tightened up last year immigrant smuggling into Ireland more or less stopped."