IRELAND may have to take in any rejected asylum seeker from the UK after Brexit, according to claims from a high-ranking government official.

James Martin, assistant secretary at the Department of Justice, briefed civil servants that Britain could “dramatically” change its asylum regime after its planned pull out of the EU in less than a year’s time.

2 British Prime Minister Theresa May Credit: AFP or licensors

Speaking to his department’s International Policy Division staff, he said Ireland may not be able to send back any asylum seekers who come after being forced to leave the UK.

Mr Martin chairs the working group set up to identify key issues around justice expected in the wake of Brexit, which will inform both his own department and the Taoiseach’s management strategy.

Speaking notes from a briefing to his staff on October 7 2016, obtained through Freedom of Information, show the senior government official said the “obvious implication of the UK leaving is that we might not be able to return asylum seekers to Britain if Britain was where they first applied.”

“However, when you think about it, that is only the first layer,” he added.

2 Garda officers have signaled their concern that Ireland will become a transit country for illegal immigrants destined for Britain after Brexit Credit: Garrett White - The Sun Dublin

“If you dig a little deeper then you have to contemplate the UK dramatically changing its approach to asylum seekers.

“Control of immigration is the key political issue for the UK and Theresa May is already on record as saying the Geneva convention on refugees has to be updated.”

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Martin said: “It does not take much to imagine every rejected asylum seeker from the UK coming to this jurisdiction.”

Garda officers have signaled their concern that Ireland will become a transit country for illegal immigrants destined for Britain after Brexit.

They have also urged more efforts to prevent illegal entry into the Common Travel Area between Ireland and Britain.