Three-year stay for 60% of State-housed asylum seekers

Almost 60% of asylum seekers in State accommodation have been there for more than three years, a new report has found.

The ESRI/European Migration Network found that more than 4,800 asylum applicants were accommodated in the country’s 35 reception centres at the end of 2012; down from just over 5,400 residents in 39 centres in 2011.

Of the 4,800, 59% had been resident for over three years, 31% for over five years, and 9% for over seven years. Asylum seekers are prohibited from working while their applications are processed and receive €19.10 per week, or €9.60 for a child.