Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 26 May 1998

Vol. 491 No. 3

Written Answers. - Asylum Applications.

Bernard J. Durkan

Question:

441 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of refugees and asylum seekers as at March 1998 and March 1997; where possible their country of origin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12352/98]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue)

The number of applications for refugee status which were outstanding on 31 March 1998 was 5,175. The corresponding figure for 31 March 1997 was 1,661. It is not possible to state how many persons with refugee status were residing in the State on these dates: records in my Department are not maintained in such a way as to enable the information sought by the Deputy to be obtained. However, I advise the Deputy that 282 persons were granted refugee status in the period 1 January 1994 to 31 March 1998.

As regards the countries of origin of the persons concerned, it has been the general policy of successive Ministers not to disclose information on the nationality of asylum seekers or refugees. This is due to the general and understandable desire on the part of individual applicants to ensure that an application for recognition as a refugee is processed in confidence. As the number of applicants of some nationalities is small, it would be relatively easy in some instances to identify particular individuals if nationality statistics were provided. Such identification could have serious implications particularly if members of an applicant's family are still in the country of origin. However, where there is a significant number of applications from certain countries of origin I am prepared to list those nationalities. The main countries of origin of asylum seekers this past year are Algeria, Nigeria, Romania, Somalia and Zaire.