Migrants afraid of being deported to Rwanda, as part of former Prime minister Rishi Sunak's deal, decided to board coaches to Dublin's main bus station. It was noted that around 80% of people who claimed asylum in Ireland - part of the EU - had arrived from the UK.

Following Labour coming to power, the Rwanda scheme was cancelled, and two years later, it was revealed that some migrants are now catching the bus to Belfast and crossing into the UK via the land border, where routine immigration checks are not carried out under the Common Travel Area arrangements.

Jim O'Callaghan, Irish minister for Justice, Home Affairs and migration, said: "My UK counterpart [Shabana Mahmood] has concerns about people arriving in Dublin, going to Belfast then travelling to the UK."

The Sun's investigation also found various TikTok videos that let people know about the new route. In one video, captioned "Ireland to UK" and posted in December, a man stands next to a bus, letting migrants know that travelling to the UK via the Republic is cheaper and safer than travelling by small boat.

He said: "You see, this bus is the one people take from Ireland. In Europe, you survive either by using your intelligence or by using your money."

According to Irish bus drivers, fake tickets are typically used to board the coaches, which means only the traffickers receive payments.

Drivers at Dublin's central station, Busaras, say they've seen an increase in the number of migrants going to Belfast, including Sean Johnson, who says he is "taking about 20 a week" on one bus.

Another driver, who did not want to be named, said that Dublin used to be where many migrants headed, but the flow has reversed.

The driver added: "A couple of years ago, we were regularly stopped by Garda immigration officials at junction 20 of the M1 (the border between the North and the Republic) and several people would always be hauled off.

"Now, there are fewer checks heading south and you are never stopped going north."

Mr O'Callaghan suspects that thousands of migrants who received deportation orders in the past 12 months have likely travelled back to Britain via the open border.

In September, he told the Irish parliament: "We have already served 3,029 deportation orders this year. Obviously, not all of those people have been removed yet, but we believe that a very significant number of them will have left the country. They may go back into the UK or other parts of Europe if they do not get asylum here."

Ireland has made its system stricter. Employed asylum seekers must contribute 10-40% of their weekly income towards accommodation costs; those seeking residency must wait 5 years rather than 3.

It's also reported that 81% of new claims are rejected at the first attempt.