The Opposition has criticised the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, following his announcement today that he is considering a plan to put asylum seekers from certain countries into detention while their cases are being processed.
Speaking at a seminar in Dublin organised by the Law Society, Mr McDowell said he was thinking about recommending the introduction of such a process to the Dáil.
He said he had studied the operation of similar detention programmes in the Netherlands and Britain.
When questioned about plans for building a detention centre, Mr McDowell said he was not contemplating one surrounded by barbed wire or anything of that sort.
The Labour Party Spokesperson on Justice, Brendan Howlin, has described Mr McDowell's proposal as 'draconian' and 'puzzling'.
He said some years ago Ireland was attracting 12,000 asylum seekers a year, but now that figure was down to around 3,000.
Mr Howlin said Mr McDowell's statement seemed to be little more than what he said was 'a cynical attempt to divert attention from his lamentable record in tackling crime'.
