Despite threat of deportation, refugee arrivals at record pace

By Andrew Bushe

DUBLIN — The number of asylum seekers who arrived in the first four months of the year is 3,848, almost the same number as arrived during all of 1997, according to figures released by the Justice Minister John O’Donoghue.

Despite attempts to disperse them around the country, nearly three-quarters of the aspiring refugees are still living in Dublin waiting for their asylum applications to be processed.

A breakdown of social-welfare payments shows that 74 percent of asylum seekers are still living in the capital, which has 30 percent of the country’s population.

There are nearly 9,000 asylum seekers in the Dublin region, compared with 475 in Cork, 244 in Galway and 21 in Limerick.

O’Donoghue said the main countries of origin of asylum seekers so far this year were Nigeria (1,156), Romania (1,150), the Democratic Republic of Congo (143) and Poland (99).

"There is no question but that Ireland’s take of asylum applications from Romania and Nigeria appears disproportionately high compared to other EU member states," O’Donoghue said.

At the current rate that asylum seekers are arriving, 12,000 will come this year, compared with 7,724 last year.

The minister has signed a readmission agreement with Romania to facilitate deportations. A similar deal was agreed in principle with the Polish government during Taoiseach Bertie Ahern’s recent visit to Warsaw.

Officials from the Department of Justice have met staff at the Nigerian embassy in Dublin about the possibility of a similar agreement with Lagos.