Georgia and asylum applicants

Sir, – You have reported that there are 376 international protection applicants awaiting an offer of accommodation from the State (“‘It’s difficult – there’s nowhere to sleep’: 376 newly arrived asylum seekers without accommodation”, News, December 31st). The latest figures from the Department of Integration also show that there are currently 3,771 applicants from Georgia availing of State accommodation.

Under section 72 of the International Protection Act, 2015, the Minister for Justice designated a number of countries as “safe countries of origin”, including Georgia. The European Council has now granted EU candidate status to Georgia and while calling for Georgia to make progress in a number of areas which require reform, the European Council has welcomed the country’s vibrant civil society, positive legislative framework and institutional structures. As far back as 2019, the Georgian ambassador to Ireland stated that “there are no political circumstances which could lead a Georgian national to seek asylum in Ireland”. The latest Eurostat figures for the third quarter of 2023 show that 27,000 non-EU citizens were returned to another country following an order to leave and most (11 per cent) were citizens of Georgia. Germany, Sweden and France recorded the highest number of returns while, of the EU 27, Ireland registered the lowest number.

Under the Government’s International Protection Modernisation Programme for 2023-2024, it is intended to provide enough extra resources to enable the State to finalise 1,000 asylum cases per month. While it has been reported that an accelerated process is in place for asylum seekers from Georgia, progress appears to be non-existent and in order to kick start the Modernisation Programme, the extra resources should now focus on asylum applicants from Georgia, with a view to the possible freeing up accommodation options for asylum seekers who are arriving here from countries such as Afghanistan and Syria but being forced to sleep on our streets.

These applications should, of course, be processed in line with all the procedures and safeguards that are required under international refugee law. It would also be important for the Irish Refugee Council (IRC), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the Georgian authorities to be engaged in this exercise in order to ensure that the rights and responsibilities of all those involved are taken account of. It is surely time, however, for realistic and immediate steps to be taken to deal with the serious challenges facing the country in fulfilling its international obligations in this area. – Yours, etc,