New figures published by the European Union's statistics office, Eurostat, reveal that Ireland has one of the EU's lowest acceptance rates for asylum seekers. The figures show that of the 1,625 asylum cases submitted to the Irish authorities in 2012, only 140 received a positive response. This equates to an approval rate of 8.6%, significantly below the EU average of 25.2%.
Countries with the highest acceptance rates include Malta and Italy, both of which have seen a significant increase in asylum cases due to the Syrian crisis. Only three other countries had a higher rejection rate than Ireland: Luxembourg (1.8%), Greece (4.9%), and Cyprus (5.2%).
The Irish Refugee Council welcomed the slight improvement in the Irish acceptance rates compared to previous years, but expressed concern at Ireland's continuing low approval rate. Sue Conlan, Chief Executive Officer of the Irish Refugee Council said, “The continuing low numbers of grants of refugee status or subsidiary protection in Ireland, which leads to the huge delays, show that there are serious deficiencies in the decision making processes. In particular, the statistics of 6.8% positive decisions at appeals bear out the severe criticisms of the refugee appeal body, the Refugee Appeal Tribunal, by the superior courts in recent months. These deficiencies, which are at the root cause of the delays in the system, will not be remedied without significant reforms, including providing adequate legal advice for applicants and overhauling the appeal body. Neither of which are contained in the proposed the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill.”
Click here to read a press release from Eurostat.
Click here to read a press release from the Irish Refugee Council.
In related news, the Irish Government recently announced an extra €1.6 million of government funding for Syrian refugees. The money will be divided between Concern, Goal and Oxfam for the provision of humanitarian assistance. This brings the Irish Government's support towards the Syrian conflict to €10 million in total.
Click here to read an article from the Irish Examiner.