If an individual presents themselves as an asylum seeker in any part of Ireland, and can confirm their identity and family history, they deserve to be treated with sympathy and support by the authorities.
However, if instead they offer details which are found to be false, and even more seriously go on to engage in criminal conduct, then they plainly forfeit the right to remain in our country.
The case of Fiyori Keseste which came before the courts last Friday was a particularly disturbing one, and it plainly has wider implications.
She initially claimed to be a child refugee who had travelled alone from Eritrea in east Africa to Co Tyrone in 2021, and the Southern Health and Social Care Trust’s 14-plus team agreed to place her in a specialist centre.
It soon began to emerge that all was not what it seemed with Keseste, who was later reported as missing from the Dungannon facility on seven occasions and eventually located in Belfast by police the following year.
A social worker tried to help by collecting her, and taking her back to the accommodation which had been prepared for her return, before starting to unpack her groceries in the kitchen.
The court heard that Kesete then lifted a knife and brutally attacked the social worker without warning, leaving the victim needing emergency surgery for life-changing injuries after being repeatedly stabbed in the head and arms
She admitted grievous bodily harm, but gave no explanation for her actions, and further investigations established that five different dates of birth and six variations of her age were registered with the UK Home Office before it was finally established that she was actually a 23-year-old adult.
A six-year jail term was imposed, with the judge recommending that on completion she should be deported, after concluding that she was a dangerous offender had entered Ireland illegally before engaging in persistently aggressive behaviour while in custody.
Further consequences need to follow, as caring professionals, like the social worker who suffered such appalling wounds in the course of their duties, must be protected from violent adult offenders like Kesete who pretend to be children.
Suspicions have been raised of similar episodes elsewhere, so it is essential that new technology which can indicate ages with considerable accuracy is fully utilised if there is the slightest doubt about the background of an asylum seeker.
Those who try to deceive officials, while gaining publicly funded benefits, should be comprehensively challenged and refused entry to Ireland at the earliest opportunity.
