Significant fall in number of asylum applications

The number of asylum applications fell significantly last year while the number of people recognised as refugees remained steady, figures just released indicate.

While 7,900 asylum applications were lodged in 2003, this fell to 4,766 last year, according to the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner.

Some 1,132 people were granted refugee status in 2004 compared with 1,174 in 2003.

The falling numbers applying for asylum here reflect the increasing difficulty of gaining access to Ireland and Europe to make an asylum application, according to Mr Peter O'Mahony, chief executive of the Irish Refugee Council.

He said Ireland last year ranked 16th in the league of industrialised nations in terms of how many asylum applications it received. "New members of the EU, such as Cyprus and Slovakia, have been receiving more than twice as many new asylum applications as Ireland."

Of the 1,132 people recognised as refugees last year, just 430 were at the "first instance" with 702 recognised after an appeal.

Mr O'Mahony went on to describe as "disappointing" the decision by the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, not to establish the Refugee Advisory Board, almost 10 years after it was first promised.

Such a board, which was provided for in the 1996 Refugee Act, was necessary to provide "transparency" to asylum and refugee policy, said Mr O'Mahony. The board was to include representatives of trade unions, immigrant groups, church organisations and legal experts, and would have had an input into asylum policy.

"There is a very definite lack of transparency in asylum policy at the moment," said Mr O'Mahony.

A spokeswoman said yesterday the Minister was "not convinced that the present legislative provision provides a suitable framework" to establish a Refugee Advisory Board.

However, she said: "The Minister recognises that input from a variety of sources can be valuable. He is therefore considering whether an alternative arrangement might be appropriate which would be capable of making a value-added contribution to asylum and refugee matters and, in particular, be of benefit to those genuinely in need of protection."

Mr O'Mahony said this had been the line from the Department for many years and no progress was apparent.

A board would provide a valuable commentary on asylum and refugee policy. Its establishment was well overdue and its absence meant the only viewpoint with a consistent input was that emanating from the Department of Justice.

"The Department has a very particular mindset. At the moment, for instance, if David Begg [General Secretary of Irish Congress of Trade Unions] wants to have an input into policy, it really is not possible. It could be valuable if used imaginatively."