Almost one in four asylum-seekers dispersed outside Dublin under the Government's mandatory programme have left their allocated accommodation, according to the latest Department of Justice figures.
Many of these people may have forfeited State benefits by voluntarily leaving the emergency accommodation at 20 locations in 14 counties.
Of 1,154 asylum-seekers placed in full board and self-catering accommodation up to the end of last month, some 275 have left. This leaves 879 people living outside Dublin - 604 in full board accommodation and 275 in self-catering accommodation. A department spokesman said it was assumed that a lot of asylum-seekers who left their allocated accommodation outside Dublin had returned to the capital.
The mandatory dispersal of newly-arrived asylum-seekers outside Dublin began last December and is the Government's response to the accommodation crisis in the capital.
The locations include Clifden and Salthill in Co Galway, Clonakilty and Glengarriff in Co Cork, Falcarragh and Letterkenny in Co Donegal and Listowel, Tralee and Killarney in Co Kerry.
Dispersed asylum-seekers whose meals are provided in fullboard accommodation receive comfort money of £15 per adult per week.
Those who live in private accommodation in Dublin can qualify for a £72 a week supplementary welfare allowance and rent allowance.
Asylum-seekers who voluntarily leave accommodation in locations to which they have been dispersed generally forfeit their right to rent supplement and full supplementary welfare allowance payments.
By voluntarily leaving accommodation with full board outside Dublin, asylum-seekers may be deemed not to have accommodation needs which are necessary to claim a rent supplement. They could also be deemed to have unreasonably deprived themselves of their meals, thus disqualifying them from claiming full supplementary welfare allowance.
The Irish Refugee Council said the mandatory dispersal programme was causing "a lot of frustration in that people who feel unhappy in their accommodation are staying in it because they feel they have no choice".
The Department's figures show that the number of asylum-seekers arriving in Ireland in the first two months of the year dropped slightly compared with the end of last year.
In January, 976 people applied for refugee status, with 864 applications in February. This compares with 1,217 applications for last December, 1,010 for November, 1,051 for October. The latest arrivals bring the backlog of cases to 10,813.
Meanwhile, the Association of Nigerian Refugees and Asylum-Seekers in Ireland is today launching a campaign for an amnesty for all asylum-seekers.
The amnesty campaign will be launched with a one-hour radio programme on a special station, Near FM, which will be broadcast between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. on 101.6 fm.