Ireland is toughest in EU for asylum process

GENUINE asylum seekers are at risk of being deported because Ireland is now the toughest country in the EU to receive protection in, a new report has said.

Ireland has taken over from Greece as the EU state with the lowest level of positive determinations for refugee applications.

The “distressing” trend is detailed in a report published by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and the Irish Penal Reform Trust, just days before the Government is questioned for the first time about its record at a UN committee on torture.

The report shows just 1% of the 1,600 refugee applications were granted in 2010, compared to the EU average of 26%.

The Irish figure has risen slightly to 5% in the first two months of this year, with some 13 applications out of 258 being given.

“It’s a distressing statistic that Ireland has the smallest recognition rate of those seeking protection in the EU,” said John Stanley, chairman of the Irish Refugee Council.

He said there was “at least” a risk that people who should not be deported are being deported, including Irish-born children.