The State has spent an average of €300 million handling and housing asylum applicants each year since 2002, according to new figures attained by Fine Gael.
Dennis Naughten, the party’s spokesman on immigration, said there are currently 14,131 leave-to-remain asylum applicants in Ireland and that, based on the current processing time of just over 2,000 applications a year, this backlog could take up to seven years to clear.
He said a total of €2.26billion has been spent processing asylum claims and accommodating asylum seekers in the past seven years.
Mr Naughten said he believes Ireland’s asylum system is broken and is costing asylum seekers, taxpayers and the Exchequer a small fortune every year.
“At present, it is taking years to fully process asylum applications to finality with it not being unusual to see an application dragging on for eight years, costing up to €1.4 million per application.
"Alongside this cost, the arduous process has a dire impact on the applicants,” he said.
“These delays are not fair on those who genuinely seek asylum, nor is it fair on the Irish taxpayer who must fund it. In the meantime those who are left waiting in State-provided accommodation are costing the taxpayer over €13,700 every year in accommodation and social welfare alone.”
Mr Naughten called on Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern to prioritise the area in the interests of the taxpayer by streamlining the existing asylum system.
