The accession of eastern European countries into the EU has been one of the main factors behind a 40 per cent drop in the number of people seeking asylum in Ireland, new figures suggest.
Figures for last year from the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner show applications fell to 4,800 last year compared to 8,000 the previous year.
This drop reflects a pattern among western European countries such as the UK ( down 33 per cent), and Denmark and Germany (both down 30 per cent).
In contrast, asylum claims last year increased significantly among accession states closer to eastern Europe and Africa, such as Cyprus (up 124 per cent), Malta (up 116 per cent) and Poland (up 17 per cent).
The figures are contained in a report on asylum levels and trends published recently by the UNHCR.
Minister for Justice Michael McDowell, while citing international trends, said yesterday the fall in asylum figures was a "vindication" of the Government's immigration policies.
A spokeswoman for the Minister said developments such as increased investment in the asylum applications system, fast-tracking of claims for certain countries, and the imposition of fines for airlines and hauliers who transport asylum seekers here were key factors in the drop in applications.
She also said the citizenship referendum may have had a significant impact on asylum patterns.
The Irish Refugee Council, meanwhile, said that while domestic immigration policies may have played a role in the drop, international factors also had a major impact.
The council's policy officer, Itayi Viriri, said global figures show asylum applications across industrialised countries are the lowest since 1988.
He said the increase in asylum figures for accession countries suggested these countries did not have the same deterrent systems in place as in western Europe.
The Refugee Applications Commissioner's report for last year, meanwhile, shows 1,117 people were refused "leave to land" in Ireland in the first quarter of 2004. This typically happens where a person does not have sufficient documentation to prove their identity.
New figures also show the office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner granted 237 people refugee status in the first three months of the year, while 1,259 new asylum applications were made in the same period.
The figures also show most asylum applicants were from Nigeria (557), followed by Somalia (88), Romania (77), Afghanistan (57) and Sudan (32).
Some 599 deportations were carried out in 2004, the report says. Among the main countries where failed applicants were deported to were Romania (250), Nigeria (77), Moldova (57) and China (18).
In the last five years 2,268 people have been deported from the State. A further 611 people left on a voluntary basis.