THE GOVERNMENT rejected three-quarters of the 4,040 asylum applications it considered last year, which is slightly higher than the average rejection rate in the EU.
Some 1,030 people were given positive decisions, providing them with the legal right to remain in the Republic. The vast majority of successful applicants (885) were allowed to stay in the country for humanitarian reasons, such as having an Irish citizen child. Some 105 people got refugee status and 40 people were awarded subsidiary protection, according to the EU statistics agency, Eurostat.
Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern rejected 3,010 asylum applications in 2009, which is 75 per cent of all decisions. The average rejection rate for asylum applications in the EU was 73 per cent in 2009, said Eurostat yesterday.
Sweden rejected 70 per cent of asylum applications received in 2009. Britain rejected 73 per cent while the Netherlands rejected 52 per cent of applications. Greece rejected 14,185 of its 14,350 applications for asylum in 2009.
The different rejection rates in the EU for asylum applicants are controversial. Non-governmental organisations claim asylum seekers get a raw deal from some EU states, particularly Greece
The Eurostat report notes the proportion of positive decisions “varies considerably” but adds it should be kept in mind that the country of origin of applicants also differs greatly between EU states.
There were 260,730 asylum applications in the EU last year. The main countries of citizenship of applicants were: Afghanistan (8 per cent); Russia (8 per cent); Somalia (7 per cent) and Iraq (7 per cent). The highest overall number of asylum applications were registered in: France (47,600); Germany (31,800) and Britain (30,300). When compared with the population of each EU member state, the highest rates of applications were registered in Malta – 5,800 applicants per million inhabitants and Cyprus – 3,300 applicants per million inhabitants. There were 2,690 new applications for asylum in Ireland in 2009, which amounts to 600 applicants per million inhabitants. A fifth of the asylum claims were made by Nigerians, 10 per cent by Pakistanis and 7 per cent by Chinese, according to the report.