It was labelled a flood, but recently it has become more like a trickle. Only weeks after warnings of a massive influx of Romanian asylum-seekers into Ireland, the numbers arriving in the south-east have fallen to almost nothing.
Last week, just two Romanians - and a single Kosovan - appeared on the steps of Wexford Garda station seeking asylum, according to local gardai. The previous week, no-one showed up.
This compares to almost 250 immigrants in the preceding three weeks, which prompted a flurry of press comment and a promise by the Minister for Justice of new laws to counter illegal immigration. Most of the arrivals were Romanian who had travelled for days in seaborne freight containers in appalling conditions.
Much blame for the arrival of so many asylum-seekers was placed on the French authorities, particularly those responsible for immigration and customs' checks at the port of Cherbourg.
Now that the numbers have fallen off, the French have moved to claim the credit. According to the French junior minister for European Affairs, Mr Pierre Moscovici, measures have been introduced to strengthen surveillance and controls at the ports.
"These have enabled us to prevent Romanian citizens - several hundred of them - from embarking at Cherbourg. We hope that this worrisome development can be reversed and we are making every effort to stop it," he told The Irish Times.
The French now say they have stopped 500 would-be immigrants to Ireland since the start of the year. A further 1,500 have been intercepted at Channel ports as they tried to make it to Britain.
But, according to Mr JeanPierre Cunaud of the French embassy in Dublin, fewer immigrants are now using Cherbourg as a transit point to Ireland anyway. He says this is because of the increased security, but doubts if this situation will last.
"It might be that the traffickers who transport these people are aware that they have to wait until the surveillance is relaxed."
Meanwhile, gardai in Wexford say there are now about 170 or 180 asylum-seekers in the town, all of them in the care of the local health board. One group of 47 Romanian gypsies were transferred to a hostel in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, while another group of 32 were moved to Youghal in Co Cork.
Other asylum-seekers who sought a transfer to Dublin have had their application for a move refused.
Mr Cunaud says the French authorities have agreed to take back most of the recent Romanian arrivals on the basis that they have already applied for asylum in France. The Department of Justice has decided to prioritise these applications and expects to deal with them within weeks.
According to a leading article in Le Monde last week, France has become a pay de rebond for illegal immigrants - a country from which they "bounce" on or transit to other countries, with Ireland being one of the main destinations.
While Romanians and Africans account for most of the non-European immigration to Ireland, the majority of those transiting through France to Britain tend to be Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, Turkish, Iraqi or African.
Mr Cunaud points out that Cherbourg is the most distant port from the developing countries where many immigrants start from.
"These people will find another way to get in, if they want to, when the social benefits are so attractive and the people are so sympathetic," he added.