Ireland takes 1,480 asylum applications in first-half 2015

Some 855 first-time asylum seekers applied for protection in Ireland between April and June 2015, bringing to 1,480 the total number of people to seek asylum in Ireland in the first six months of 2015.

Data released by Eurostat on Friday shows over 210,000 first-time asylum seekers arrived in the EU between April and June 2015, representing an increase of 15 per cent on the first three months of the year and a jump of 85 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Most of the refugees and migrants to arrive in the EU were Syrian and Afghan, almost 44,000 and 27,000 respectively, and more than one in three were seeking asylum in Germany.

The majority of asylum seekers to arrive in Ireland in the second quarter of 2015 came from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Albania.

Of the 855 people to arrive in Ireland between April and June, 440 were from Pakistan, 90 from Bangladesh and 55 from Albania.

Total number

The number of asylum seekers to arrive in Ireland between April and June made up just 0.4 per cent of the total number of refugees and migrants to arrive in the EU during the same time period.

According to Eurostat, most asylum seekers to arrive in the EU in the first three months of 2015 were from Kosovo, with 50,000 arriving in member states. This number subsequently dropped to 10,000 in the second quarter of the year.

Of the 213,200 people to seek asylum in Europe between April and July, 38 per cent were registered in Germany, 15 per cent in Hungary, 8 per cent in Austria and 7 per cent in Italy. Meanwhile, the number of people seeking asylum in the Netherlands jumped by 159 per cent, while Latvia witnessed a rise of 123 per cent. Austria was up 79 per cent.

More than three quarters of the 44,000 Syrian first-time asylum seekers who arrived in the EU between April and June were registered in Germany, with 8,400 registered in Hungary, 5,300 in Austria and 3,900 in Sweden. Over half of the 27,000 Afghans who arrived in the EU seeking asylum applied in Hungary.

Albanians represented 8 per cent of the total number of first-time applicants for asylum, with almost 90 per cent applying in Germany.

Compared with the size of a country’s population, the highest number of first-time asylum seekers to arrive in the EU during the second quarter was recorded in Hungary, with 3,317 per million inhabitants. This was followed by Austria, Sweden and Germany. In Ireland, the 855 asylum seekers to arrive between April and June represented 185 per million inhabitants in the State.

By the end of June 2015, about 592,000 asylum applications across the EU were still under consideration. This represents a noticeable jump from the same time last year, when nearly 365,000 applications were pending.

Voluntary data

Data for Eurostat research is provided by European Member State Ministries of Justice, Interior or Immigration, while data on first time asylum applicants is provided voluntarily.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) warned on Friday that time is running out for European leaders to resolve the refugee crisis, saying the chaos and confusion on Hungarian borders was being caused by the absence of a coherent and united response.

More than 442,440 refugees and migrants have arrived in Europe via the Mediterranean so far this year, while some 2,921 people have died making the journey. According to the UNHCR, 4,000 people are arriving on the Greek islands every day.

The UNHCR warned that the European Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting scheduled for September 22nd and the European Council meeting on September 23rd could be the last opportunity for a "positive, united and coherent" European response to the crisis.