Asylum seeker work ban 'costing millions of euros'

The Irish Refugee Council has accused the Government of wasting millions of euro by not allowing asylum seekers to work.

The council said the State had spent more than €1.1bn on services for asylum seekers over the past four years and social welfare payments made up a significant portion of this money.

The payments are made to asylum seekers who are not allowed to work while their applications for refugee status are being assessed.

The Refugee Council said more than 10,000 asylum seekers were currently in such a situation and some of them had been waiting up to six years for a decision.