The number of refugee applications lodged last year was the highest annual total to date and one of the highest in the EU per capita, according to a new report.
A total of 11,634 people from around 130 countries sought refugee status in Ireland last year, the annual report from the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner shows.
However, more than half of those scheduled for interview in 2002 did not turn up for the arranged appointment, a trend which the report notes presents a "continuing problem for the office and for the efficient use of resources".
In just over one in 10 cases decided last year by the office, refugee status was granted on the basis that the applicants had a well-founded fear of persecution on grounds including race, religion, nationality or membership of a particular social group.
People recognised as refugees are allowed to live and work in Ireland and enjoy many rights of citizens.
The second annual report of the office, which makes initial decisions on refugee applications, shows a 12.7 per cent increase in applications in 2002, compared to 2001.
The top three countries of origin for refugee applicants continued to be Nigeria, Romania and Moldova, respectively.
A total of 912 people claiming to be unaccompanied minors attended the office last year, seeking to make an application for refugee status or to be reunited with their families.
Sixty-one of these were subsequently shown not to be minors, 12 by admission and 49 following age-assessment tests.
The numbers of people granted refugee status seeking to have their family members join them in Ireland more than doubled in 2002, to 358, compared to 118 in 2001.
The report says that preliminary research was conducted on the possible use of DNA testing in assisting in family reunification cases and on the use of language analysis to verify the nationality of applicants. The report states that progress in dealing with applications was driven by a higher number of decisions being taken and also by an increase in the number of withdrawn cases.
Of the 12,681 interviews arranged, in more than 52 per cent of cases the applicants did not attend. "Continuing high rates of non-participation were also reflected in the number of persons failing to attend for interview and this phenomenon presents a considerable challenge for the office's management and deployment of interviewer resources," the report notes.
A spokesman for the office said a pilot system of interview management has been introduced to cater for this high non-attendance rate.
The increased processing has led to a significant reduction in the backlog of pending cases, from 8,484 in December 2001, to 5,094 in December 2002.
There has also been a shortening in the average processing time, and an applicant who complies with the process usually receives a decision within four months, the report says.
A negative decision from the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner can be appealed to the Refugee Appeals Tribunal.
Mr Peter O'Mahony from the Irish Refugee Council welcomed the reduction in case-processing times and the size of the office's backlog.
However, he said there was still a "huge percentage of refugees who are not being recognised by the Refugee Applications Commissioners office.
"Of those who do get refugee status more than half are getting it at appeal stage.
"Last year 2000 people got refugee status and fewer than 900 got it at the first-instance stage, so for every two refugees out there one was turned down at the first interview.
"To us that seems absolutely astonishing and the figures have got worse in the first few months of this year."