I am advised by the International Protection Office (IPO) that, in the period 1 January 2000 to 31 August 2019, a total of 86,533 people made an application for asylum (2000 -2016) or international protection (from 2017 onwards) in the State. A breakdown of the figures for each of the years is set out in the table below.
As the Deputy may be aware, not all applicants for international protection avail of the accommodation services offered by my Department. However, I am advised that over the period concerned it is estimated that some 64,594 people availed of this accommodation.
I am further advised that a total of 7,372 persons with Refugee Status have subsequently become naturalised in the period 2005 to end August 2019. Figures prior to 2005 are not available.
The Immigration Service of my Department have advised that there is no means of interrogating the system to determine whether applicants were, at the time of application, residents within the direct provision system or if they had previously been in accommodation provided by the Department. The Deputy may be aware, in this regard, that two of the five years total residency requirement for naturalisation are waived, for those defined as refugees under the 1956 Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, as amended.
Year
|
Total Asylum/International Protection Applications
|
Total Persons with Refugee Status who became Naturalised
|
2000
|
10,938
|
Figures not available
|
2001
|
10,325
|
Figures not available
|
2002
|
11,634
|
Figures not available
|
2003
|
7,900
|
Figures not available
|
2004
|
4,766
|
Figures not available
|
2005
|
4,323
|
0
|
2006
|
4,314
|
29
|
2007
|
3,985
|
254
|
2008
|
3,866
|
1,050
|
2009
|
2,689
|
681
|
2010
|
1,939
|
687
|
2011
|
1,290
|
1,139
|
2012
|
956
|
1,055
|
2013
|
946
|
1,153
|
2014
|
1,448
|
551
|
2015
|
3,276
|
317
|
2016
|
2,244
|
259
|
2017
|
2,926
|
116
|
2018
|
3,673
|
51
|
2019 to end August
|
3,095*
|
30
|
Total
|
86,533
|
7,372
|
*The figure for the number of International Protection applications in 2019 to end August is provisional.