Asylum in Ireland - the facts
Individuals who seek asylum in Ireland may be recognised as refugees at either the first instance - by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner (ORAC) - or on appeal - by the Refugee Appeals Tribunal (RAT). If unsuccessful at appeal, they may apply to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform for "leave to remain". (Ireland does not yet have a formal system of "complementary" or "subsidiary" protection for people whose protection needs are not covered by refugee conventions.) If refused leave to remain, people who sought refuge may be deported, regardless of how long they have lived - legally - in Ireland.
The total number of asylum applicants recognised in Ireland as refugees from 2000to 31 March 2005 is 6,087. Of these, just under 40 per cent were recognised at first instance and just over 60 per cent were recognised on appeal.
This year
A total of 237 persons were recognised as refugees in the first three months of 2005. Of these, 94 (40 per cent) were recognised at first instance and 143 (60 per cent) at appeal.
Top 5 countries
The top 5 countries of origin of new asylum applicants this year to date are:
› Nigeria – 557
› Somalia – 88
› Romania – 77
› Afghanistan – 57
› Sudan – 32
Leave to remain
Ireland gives leave to remain to very small numbers of unsuccessful asylum-seekers, whereas in some EU countries the number who get refugee status is well surpassed by the number who get leave to remain.
Some people currently waiting for a decision on their leave to remain applications have been in Ireland - legally - since the late 1990s and the risk of being deported in the future when their status is changed to "illegal immigrant" hangs over them. One such case known to the Irish Refugee Council dates back to 1997, while a number of others are of people who sought asylum in 1999.
In 2004, the number of former asylum seekers deported (599) was eight times the number who got leave to remain (75).
Accommodation
Under the "direct provision" system, introduced in April 2000, asylum seekers are housed in shared, hostel-type accommodation centres across the country. Residents of direct provision centres are provided with food and lodging and a guaranteed cash payment of ?19.10 per adult or ?9.60 per child per week. Asylum seekers are not allowed by the state to take up paid work – Ireland and Denmark, uniquely, have opted out of this year's EU-wide "Reception Directive" which includes proposals granting (limited) access to employment to asylum seekers in the asylum process.
At the end of March 2005, there were 7,280 asylum seekers in 68 direct provision centres, of whom 1,678 asylum seekers (21 per cent) had been residing in direct provision for over two years. A quarter of those living in direct provision centres are under the age of four. Asylum seekers with children who arrived in the country after 1 May 2004 do not receive child benefit.
Family reunification
A total of 219 new family reunification applications have been received so far in 2005, while a total of 121 have been processed to completionand passed on to the Minister of Justice, Equality and Law Reform for final decision. The top four nationalities in family reunification applications so far this year are Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.
Leave to land
A total of 1,117 people were refused "leave to land" in Ireland in the first quarter of 2005, that is,they were turned away on arrival at an Irish port or airport or held in an Irish prison until a flight could be arranged for them. How many of them were seeking asylum is unknown.
(The above is taken from the web site of the Irish Refugee Council – www.irishrefugeecouncil.ie)