The number of people claiming asylum dropped last month to its lowest in almost a year, Government figures show.
In June 677 people applied for asylum, a substantial dip in applications which had been running at about 1,000 a month since last August.
Last month's figure brings to 5,327 the total number of asylum claimants this year. This remains a substantial increase on the same period last year, when only 1,975 people had claimed asylum.
Asylum-seekers are people who seek refugee status in the State on the basis that they are fleeing persecution at home on grounds including race, religion and nationality. Once granted refugee status, they are entitled to live permanently in the State and receive health, education and other services on the same basis as Irish nationals. If refused following appeals they are liable to be deported.
Nigerian nationals account for the majority of asylum-seekers this year, with 1,615 applications to the end of June. Romanians are the second-largest group, with 1,415 claims in the same period. These two nationalities account for the majority of asylum-seekers in the State.
A spokesman for the Department of Justice, which issued the figures, said it was too early to draw definitive conclusions from the latest dip, which may not continue.
He said some of the latest Government measures could have had an effect on the number of people claiming asylum. These include the signing last May of a readmission agreement with Romania aimed at speeding up deportations, the establishment of the Garda National Immigration Bureau and the increase in the issue of deportation orders.
Under the terms of the readmission agreement, two Romanian police officers are due to come to Ireland to assist gardai in deportations.
The number of asylum applications has risen considerably in the past few years, from just over 400 in 1995 to 7,724 last year. This increase has given rise to lengthy delays in the processing of applications.
There are currently about 12,000 applications on hand. Earlier this month the Minister for Justice announced the immediate recruitment of 370 additional staff to speed up asylum applications.
Mr O'Donoghue said the additional resources would allow quicker decisions on applications for refugee status and would lead in due course to the completion of the processing of all new asylum applications in a six-month period. The Minister also said he expected to announce a readmission agreement for failed asylum-seekers from Nigeria and Poland by the end of the year.
Twenty people have been granted refugee status in the year to the end of last month, while 141 people were refused. Twelve failed asylum-seekers from Poland were deported last week.