Many asylum-seekers expressed considerable frustration at being unable to work while their applications to remain in the State were being processed, the report says.
Two-thirds of 85 asylum-seekers interviewed by the UCD academics had completed second-level education or had some kind of third-level qualification.
While a limited number of asylum-seekers were granted the right to work last year, the majority of people interviewed for the survey last November were not allowed to work.
More than one-fifth of those surveyed were in higher or lower managerial positions before they left their native countries, the report shows. Almost one-fifth were in the intermediate non-manual category. A further fifth were semi-skilled and 7 per cent were unskilled. "The restriction on working during the processing of the asylum application was a source of considerable frustration for many asylum-seekers," the report says.
Asked about employment preferences, people said they would consider anything. "They consistently emphasised their flexibility if given the opportunity to work and their desire to contribute to the Irish economy," the report adds.
It concludes that, "although Irish welfare provisions catered for asylum-seekers' basic needs, integration measures at the crucial first-impression stage seemed inadequate. Whatever the final outcome, there is a need to make some productive use of the often lengthy period when the asylum application is being processed."
For most of those surveyed, Ireland was a chance destination in Europe. One-third said they had made a choice to come to the State.
"It is likely that most decisions on destinations are taken for pragmatic reasons by traffickers," the report says. "The rise in this business is a consequence of EU policies that deny any legal avenue of access to both immigrants and refugees."