‘Severe’ immigration policy favours one in 20
New data shows the Government is operating one of the most severe immigrant policies within the 25 EU member states.
Last year, only 350 asylum seekers out of 9,310 decided cases were granted refugee status here - a figure which translates as 3.8%.
Statistics for the first quarter of 2004 show a slight increase in positive outcomes with 105 out of 1,970 applicants or 5.3% being granted asylum.
The EU average is 8-9%, according to new information provided by the European Commission.
Ireland is also one of the few countries within Europe to record a slight increase in the number of first-time asylum applicants between January and March this year compared to the previous quarter.
A total of 1,255 applications were received in the first three months of 2004 - 20 more than in the fourth quarter of 2003.
However, most other EU states recorded a decline in the number of first-time asylum seekers as governments across the continent appeared to employ tighter controls on immigration.
Fifty unaccompanied minors arrived in Ireland during the first three months of this year, of whom ten were aged under 15.
Germany remains the most popular destination (93,885 in 2003) followed by the UK (80,960) and France (65,295) for asylum seekers in Europe.
Ireland continues to attract a higher number of refugees than other larger, more populous countries including Greece, Spain, Poland and Finland.
However, all countries with high numbers of asylum applicants have recorded a declining rate of granting long-term permission to reside within their jurisdictions.
Two years ago, one-third of all applicants in Britain were granted asylum. However, the success rate fell to 17% last year and just over 11% for the first quarter of 2004, despite no significant drop in the overall number of applicants.
EU statistics also show that some of its new members such as the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Slovakia operate strict immigration controls with less than 5% of applicants being granted asylum.
In contrast, more than half of all asylum seekers in Lithuania and Malta are successful in their applications.
The latest findings come as Labour senator, Joanna Tutty accused Justice Minister, Michael McDowell, of operating an excessively paranoid immigration policy.
Ms Tutty said recent newspaper reports detailing how foreign relatives of Irish citizens were being refused entry highlighted how such events were more frequent than generally perceived.
A Cuban grandmother who had already been in Ireland on holiday twice before, was recently refused a visa to travel here on three separate occasions.
Tirsa Martinez (60) had wanted to visit her three Irish grandchildren living in Ennis, Co Clare with her daughter, Cecilia and her Irish son-in-law, Paul Conway.
