Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 18 May 1999

Vol. 504 No. 7

Written Answers. - Asylum Applications.

Brendan Howlin

Question:

319 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of applications for refugee status made to his Department from Yugoslavian inhabitants within the ten years prior to the recent decision of the Govern ment to accept programme refugees from Kosovo; the number of these applications which had come from ethnic Albanians from Kosovo; the percentage of these applications from Yugoslavia in general and ethnic Albanian Kosovars in particular for refugee status which were accepted; the percentage of these applications where refugee status was refused but leave to remain in the State on humanitarian grounds was given; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13041/99]

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

The records available in my Department do not enable me to provide the information sought by the Deputy for the entire ten year period.

However, the information requested by the Deputy for the years 1992 to 1999 is set out in the following tabular statement. It should be noted that many of the applicants referred to failed to produce adequate documentary evidence of identity. This creates a particular difficulty when a region becomes recognised as a war zone to which forced repatriations are not going to happen. This would be the case with Kosovo. It is, of course, true that many refugees historically have been undocumented.

Asylum applications from persons claiming origins in Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and Former Yugoslavian Republics (1992 – 1996)

	1922	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999(7/5)	Total
No. of Applications	9	11	4	37	94	91	138	71	455
From Kosovo and ofethnic Albanianorigin*	–	1	2	8	81	87	127	68	374

Although Kosovo is not a separate state, my Department has maintained a record of the number of asylum applicants claiming to be Kosovans or of ethnic Albanian extraction within the overall figure of applicants from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY). However, records have not been maintained in a format for all of the period since 1993 to enable me to provide the Deputy with details of the number of applications accepted and rejected on an annual basis.

Details of the total number of applications in those years granted, refused or deemed abandoned, where the applicant fails to attend an interview or is otherwise uncontactable without good and sufficient reason, are as set out in the following tabular statements:

1. Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) (including Kosovo) and Former Yugoslav Republics (FYR) ( Croatia, Bosnia, Slovenia, Macedonia)

Granted	51
Refused	60
Deemed Abandoned	25
Granted as % of total applications claimingFRY and FYR identity	11.2 %
Refused as % of total applications claimingFRY and FYR identity	18.7%

2.Kosovo

Granted	26
Refused	43
Deemed Abandoned	16
Granted as % of total No. of applicationsclaiming Kosovan identity	7%
Refused as % of total No. of applicationsclaiming Kosovan identity	16%

During the years 1995 to date – which are the only years for which figures are available – leave to remain was granted to five Yugoslavians.