Granting of refugee status to asylum seekers doubles

THE number of asylum seekers granted refugee status in Ireland doubled this year, the latest figures show.

Last year, just 937 successful refugee applications were processed. But improvements made to the asylum system by the Department of Justice this year means the whole system has been significantly speeded up. As a result, last year’s figure has been more than doubled, with 1,892 successful refugee applicants in the first 11 months of the year.

Significantly, that figure represents 43% of all refugees to be recognised in Ireland since 1992.