Asylum Applications.

Thursday, 10 February 2005

Questions (211, 212, 213)

Jim O'Keeffe

Question:

210 Mr. J. O’Keeffe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of persons who arrived and claimed or sought asylum in the State in each of the years 2002, 2003 and 2004; their respective countries of origin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4446/05]

View answer

Written answers

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. McDowell)

The information sought by the Deputy in respect of the number of applications for asylum by country of origin for the years 2002, 2003 and 2004 is set out in the following tables:

Nationalities	2002
Albania	165
Algeria	106
Angola	117
Bangladesh	16
Belarus	61
Benin	12
Bulgaria	56
Burundi	11
Cameroon	187
China	85
Croatia	200
Czech Republic	268
Dr Congo/Zaire	270
Egypt	20
Estonia	66
Georgia	103
Ghana	293
Guinea	13
Hungary	23
India	41
Iran	17
Iraq	148
Israel	105
Ivory Coast	53
Jamaica	19
Kazakhstan	92
Kenya	105
Kosovo	64
Kyrgyzstan	11
Latvia	46
Lebanon	28
Liberia	31
Lithuania	284
Macedonia	18
Moldova	535
Morocco	17
Nigeria	4051
Pakistan	120
Palestine	40
Poland	314
Romania	1679
Russia	206
Rwanda	18
Serbia	24
Sierra Leone	78
Slovakia	26
Somalia	77
South Africa	183
Stateless	59
Sudan	50
Togo	70
Turkey	19
Uganda	16
Ukraine	351
Uzbekistan	28
Yugoslavia	25
Zimbabwe	357
Other	157
Total	11,634

**For confidentiality reasons it is not the usual practice to release details of nationalities with less than ten applications.

Nationalities	2003
Afghanistan	24
Albania	142
Algeria	68
Angola	116
Armenia	15
Belarus	37
Bosnia	13
Brazil	13
Burundi	32
Cameroon	130
China	168
Congo	19
Croatia	164
Czech Republic	186
DR Congo/Zaire	256
Egypt	10
Eritrea	21
Estonia	23
Ethiopia	13
Gambia	11
Georgia	133
Ghana	180
Guinea	15
India	11
Iran	48
Iraq	129
Israel	30
Ivory Coast	54
Jamaica	12
Kazakhstan	25
Kenya	73
Kosovo	64
Latvia	20
Liberia	105
Lithuania	82
Moldova	243
Nigeria	3,110
Pakistan	62
Palestine	20
Poland	110
Romania	777
Russia	101
Rwanda	29
Serbia	24
Sierra Leone	41
Somalia	183
South Africa	114
Stateless	40
Sudan	70
Syria	15
Togo	41
Turkey	19
Uganda	35
Ukraine	140
Yugoslavia	18
Zimbabwe	88
Other	178
Total	7,900

*For confidentiality reasons it is not the usual practice to release details of nationalities with less than ten applications.

Nationalities	2004
Afghanistan	106
Albania	99
Algeria	66
Angola	76
Azerbijan	14
Belarus	18
Burundi	35
Cameroon	62
China	152
Congo	19
Croatia	131
Czech Republic	25
Dr Congo/Zaire	140
Eritrea	29
Ethiopia	27
Georgia	130
Ghana	64
Guinea	37
India	10
Iran	72
Iraq	38
Ivory Coast	26
Kenya	44
Kosovo	36
Kuwait	14
Liberia	61
Libya	10
Moldova	100
Nepal	18
Nigeria	1,776
Pakistan	55
Palestine	33
Poland	16
Romania	286
Russia	62
Rwanda	21
Serbia	10
Sierra Leone	31
Somalia	198
South Africa	45
Sudan	145
Syria	18
Togo	29
Turkey	21
Uganda	25
Ukraine	68
Uzbekistan	13
Zimbabwe	69
Other	186
Total	4,766

*For confidentiality reasons it is not the usual practice to release details of nationalities with less than ten applications.

Jim O'Keeffe

Question:

211 Mr. J. O’Keeffe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the time it takes for his Department to determine an application for asylum or an application for refugee status; the time it is taking to determine appeals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4447/05]

View answer

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. McDowell)

As the Deputy is aware, applications for refugee status are determined by an independent process comprising the office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner, ORAC, and the Refugee Appeals Tribunal, RAT, which make recommendations to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform on whether such status should be granted. Two types of processing caseloads exist in the ORAC and the RAT, namely, applications which are prioritised on foot of a ministerial prioritisation direction made under section 12 of the Refugee Act 1996 and cases in respect of which such a direction does not exist.

With regard to processing timescales for prioritised asylum applications, on 24 January 2005 I announced new arrangements for the speedier processing of such applications which were implemented with effect from 25 January. The new arrangements apply in the main to nationals of Nigeria, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and South Africa. In 2004, these applications comprised 47% of all applications. These new arrangements include the reduction of processing timescales both at the initial stage in ORAC from six weeks to around three weeks and for appeal determinations in RAT from an average of five weeks to three weeks.

For other cases, the typical processing time in the ORAC is in the region of six months. The average length of time taken to process and complete substantive appeals in the RAT is approximately 16 weeks and appeals which are determined on the basis of papers alone are completed in five to six weeks.

Work is ongoing in the ORAC and RAT with a view to further speeding up processing times for asylum applications. It should be noted, however, that the extent to which any period can be abridged is dictated in part by the necessity to allow an applicant a reasonable period in which to set out his or her claim in full. These safeguards are underpinned by the Refugee Act 1996. Also, a range of factors can add to the complexity of cases, notably where a case requires more than one interview or the applicant is unable to attend an interview or hearing for valid medical reasons.

Following significant additional investment in the asylum determination process over the past four years, considerable progress has been made in processing asylum applications in the timescales involved. This is evidenced, for example, by the fact that the number of cases more than six months old in the ORAC and the RAT stood at 1,057 on 31 January 2005, as compared to a figure of approximately 6,500 at the end of September 2001.

Jim O'Keeffe

Question:

212 Mr. J. O’Keeffe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of applications for asylum and for refugee status which his Department received and determined in each of the years 2002, 2003 and 2004; the number of such applications at present in hand; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4448/05]

View answer

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. McDowell)

The numbers of applications for asylum received and determinations made for each of the years 2002, 2003 and 2004 is as in the table.

Year	2002	2003	2004
No. of applications	11,634	7,900	4,766
Total recommendations made at first instance (ORAC)	8,360	8,192	6,890
Total appeals completed (RAT)	5,544	5,045	6,520

*Figures refer to the year in which the recommendation or decision was made and not the year in which the application was lodged. As at 31 January 2005 there were 2,290 cases on hand in ORAC and 1,339 in RAT. This compares with a total number of cases in hand at 31 January 2004 of 4,334 in ORAC and 2,596 in RAT. The total number of cases in hand in ORAC and RAT as at 31 January 2005 which are more than six months old is approximately 1,057. This compares with a total of 6,500 cases in hand more than six months old in September 2001.

Questions Nos. 213 and 214 answered with Question No. 209.