10% of refugees here sought asylum in Europe

ONE in 10 refugees coming to Ireland have already tried to seek asylum in another European country.

This statistic emerged from a new EU fingerprint database that identifies those who have already applied for asylum in another member state.

Under the EU’s Dublin II convention, the first European country entered by a person claiming asylum is responsible for processing their application.

A person may not make a further application in another EU country, if their first bid fails. They may also be returned to the first European country into which they arrived.

A new computerised fingerprint system that went live last October in the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner is being used to take the fingerprints of all asylum seekers.

The fingerprints are checked with the EURODEC system, a fully automated, computerised central database based in the European Commission.

The new fingerprint-checking system has found that about 10% of refugees arriving in Ireland since October have already applied for refugee status in other member states.

Last year, more than 200 people were sent from Ireland back to the first EU member state that they first arrived in.

But the Irish Refugee Council pointed out asylum seekers often travelled to a country where they felt they might be safe and be granted refugee states.

“For example, if you are an Iraqi you have a 70% chance of being granted asylum in Sweden and 0% in Greece,” said the council’s chief executive Robin Hanan.

“The fundamental problem is that different countries have different standards in decision-making and protection,” he pointed out.

“Ireland is one of the hardest countries in Europe to get through the rigorous asylum process, with only 10% succeeding, as against up to 40% in some other countries,” said Mr Robin.

Meanwhile, a study by psychologists at University College Dublin has found that 46% of refugees are very distressed by their experience in Ireland.

The study, published in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, was based on interviews with 162 people from 38 different countries in immigrant drop-in centres, English language schools and religious centres in Dublin, Louth, Longford, Meath, Limerick, Galway and Cork.

Ireland’s policy of sending asylum applications to accommodation centres while their cases are being processed means they have little say over where they are living. Most live in hostels with an allowance of €19.10 a week.

Psychologists at UCD who were involved in the study believe the way asylum seekers have to live in Ireland while awaiting their application to be processed was hugely damaging to their mental health.

The Irish Refugee Council said it was hardly surprising asylum seekers were suffering from severe stress. Many would have come from extremely distressing situations and have left family behind them. Some would have left good lives to arrive in a culture of disbelief in Ireland.