Practically 600 asylum seekers had been refused refugee standing within the first month of this 12 months, greater than double the quantity refused throughout the identical month final 12 months, in accordance with information from the Division of Justice.
Some 62 per cent (595 individuals) of first-time worldwide safety (IP) functions assessed in January 2024 had been refused permission to stay on this nation, whereas 26 per cent (251 individuals) had been granted refugee standing.
Some 261 individuals had been refused standing in January of final 12 months, whereas simply 14 individuals had been refused refugee standing in January 2022.
A complete of 953 functions had been assessed in January, up from 502 functions assessed in January 2023 and 388 assessed in January 2022.
Practically 60 per cent of all asylum functions (5,197) made final 12 months had been refused within the first occasion, a threefold improve on 2022 when simply 18 per cent of functions (875) had been refused.
General, 28 per cent of candidates in 2023 had been granted refugee standing, 6 per cent had been granted depart to stay and a pair of.5 per cent had been granted subsidiary safety.
Subsidiary safety is granted when an individual doesn’t qualify for refugee standing however there are substantial grounds for believing they’d endure severe hurt in the event that they returned to their nation of origin. Permission to stay is granted on the discretion of the Minister for Justice on humanitarian grounds or for another compelling motive.
The newest Authorities figures additionally present 878 newly arrived IP candidates wouldn’t have entry to State lodging and could also be sleeping tough. The UN Company for Refugees, often known as UNHCR, known as this week on the Authorities to finish homelessness amongst asylum seekers and finish the tradition of recent arrivals sleeping in tents.
In a written submission to the UN committee on financial, social and cultural rights, UNHCR known as on the Authorities to take “concrete measures to scale up long-term, state-provided lodging” for asylum seekers and to “remove reliance on emergency lodging and tents”. It additionally known as on the State to cease inserting unaccompanied youngsters in “unregulated emergency lodging”.
The State has a “ethical and authorized obligation to fulfill the fundamental wants of people that come to Eire searching for security,” stated UNHCR forward of the committee on financial, social and cultural rights listening to on Thursday. “That is an emergency scenario which requires the Authorities to take extraordinary measures to make sure it might probably meet these fundamental humanitarian wants.”
The committee will contemplate Eire’s compliance with the worldwide covenant, which enshrines rights to housing, schooling, well being and work, in Geneva at this time.
In January, the Authorities introduced Algeria and Botswana could be added to its listing of ‘protected nations’ as a part of a wider Authorities plans to hurry up processing instances for asylum functions.
The variety of Algerian candidates for asylum spiked in 2022, rising from 138 functions the earlier 12 months to 1,766. Nonetheless, applicant numbers dropped barely in 2023 to 1,462. Some 65 Algerians utilized for asylum in Eire within the first month of this 12 months.
The variety of Botswanans searching for asylum additionally elevated in recent times, rising from 69 candidates in 2021 to 370 in 2022, earlier than dropping barely to 343 final 12 months. Simply seven individuals from Botswana utilized for asylum in Eire in 2020. In January of this 12 months, 52 Botswanans have utilized for asylum.
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and South Africa are additionally designated ‘protected nations’ for asylum functions.
The variety of Georgian candidates for asylum has dropped significantly because the nation was designated as protected in 2022, down from 2,710 in 2022 to 1,065 in 2023.
Nonetheless, the variety of South African asylum candidates elevated throughout the identical interval, up from 450 in 2022 to 492 final 12 months.
There are at the moment 19,300 functions for worldwide safety pending evaluation. The best variety of functions through the first month of the 12 months got here from Nigerians, adopted by individuals from Pakistan, Somalia, Bangladesh and South Africa.
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