Asylum seeker numbers set to hit 10-year low

The number of asylum seekers coming to Ireland is set to fall to a 10-year low this year, according to new figures obtained by The Irish Times.

The steep decline follows the Government's tightening of the asylum process, including abolition of the right to Irish citizenship for children born in Ireland to foreign nationals following the 2004 citizenship referendum.

The latest Department of Justice data reveals the monthly total of asylum seekers arriving in the State dropped to a near-seven-year low in June, when 278 new cases were registered with the authorities. It was the lowest monthly total since February 1999.

Barring an unexpected spike in the remainder of the year, the annual total for 2006 looks set to fall to 1997 levels when 3,883 asylum seekers arrived here.

The figure peaked in 2002, at 11,643. However, this fell sharply to 7,900 in 2003. There was another sharp fall in 2004 to 4,766, with a more gradual decrease to 4,323 last year.

In the eight months to the end of August, 2,744 asylum seekers arrived here, around 5 per cent lower than the same period last year.

As well as changes to the right to citizenship for Irish-born children, financial penalties of up to €3,000 per case were introduced in 2003 for airlines carrying passengers to Ireland who were not entitled to enter the Republic.

In the same year, the Supreme Court ruled the State could legally deport foreign national parents of Irish-born children. This ruling gave rise to the citizenship referendum of 2004.

Sources said the asylum process was also made more unattractive by the changes to social welfare legislation relating to habitual residence conditions.

Under these 2004 changes, asylum seekers were placed in direct provision housing and given small weekly allowances.

Before this, they were entitled to rental allowances for dwellings of their choice. They were also entitled to other benefits such as children's allowance.

Those applying for asylum, or appealing refusal, can also expect to spend a much shorter period residing in Ireland than before. Backlogs at the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner (Orac) and Refugee Appeals Tribunal have been greatly reduced.

The number of cases over six months old stood at 678 at the end of July, compared with 6,500 five years ago.

At the beginning of last year, asylum seekers from Nigeria, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and South Africa were prioritised.

This means their initial applications are processed within 18 working days and any appeals within 15 working days.

Currently 43 per cent of total applications are from nationals from these priority countries.

The new asylum figures also reveal that while Nigerian nationals still account for the single biggest national group seeking asylum here, their numbers are declining even more rapidly than the total numbers coming here.

In 2003 some 3,110 Nigerians claimed asylum here, representing almost 40 per cent of the total number of asylum seekers in the year. Last year, that figure had fallen to 1,278, or 30 per cent of the total figure.

To date in 2006, 540 Nigerians have applied for asylum, 22 per cent of the total number for the period.

They were followed by 227 Romanians, 220 Sudanese, 154 Iranians and 114 Somalis.