The Irish Refugee Council is concerned that recent cases of refugees being denied Irish citizenship are presenting another barrier to their integration into society, writes Nuala Haughey, Social and Racial Affairs Correspondent.
The umbrella organisation says it is worried by a new apparent trend to refuse citizenship applications from people who have fled persecution in their native countries and been granted the right to live here as refugees.
Refugees are not automatically entitled to Irish citizenship, although once their refugee status is recognised they acquire many of the rights enjoyed by citizens.
As soon as asylum-seekers are determined to be refugees fleeing persecution, they can apply to the Minister for Justice for citizenship through naturalisation.
The Minister has discretion to grant citizenship to refugees even if they do not comply with conditions which may be necessary, such as having resided in the State for a specified period.
Ms Cabrini Gibbons, from the Irish Refugee Council, said in several cases in recent weeks refugees have sought advice from the organisation after their applications for citizenship were refused without grounds for the refusal being given. In two cases, involving a Nigerian couple and a Kosovar couple, there were no obvious reasons why their applications were refused.
Ms Gibbons said she contacted the Department of Justice's immigration and citizenship office, and was told the people concerned could seek access to their files through the Freedom of Information Act, but that these documents would not necessarily contain the reasons for the refusals.
Ms Gibbons said she would be concerned if the current trend continued as it goes against the spirit of the 1951 Refugee Convention, which states that countries should as far as possible facilitate the assimilation and naturalisation of refugees. "If we are going to deny citizenship to refugees who intend to live here for the rest of their lives it is a worrying trend."
A refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo who applied for citizenship in November 2000 told The Irish Times she was shocked recently to have her application refused, particularly as some other people granted refugee status at the same time as her were successful.
"It means a lot to me because as a refugee I still feel stateless and I feel like I'm still nowhere but if I had my citizenship I would feel really settled here," said the woman, who did not wish to be identified.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice said each case for citizenship by naturalisation was dealt with on its individual merits. "There has been no policy change."
However, the Irish Refugee Council's chief executive officer, Mr Peter O'Mahony, said the Government should give reasons for the recent refusal of Irish citizenship to some recognised refugees.
"If applications for citizenship are refused for no transparent reason, this gives a very negative message about the integration of refugees into Irish society."
Mr O'Mahony said the refusal of citizenship is "but the latest barrier to integration that refugees in Ireland face".