The number of asylum seekers granted refugee status fell to a record low of 1.1 per cent last year, with only 24 people granted protection by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner.
The commissioner’s 2010 annual report shows 98.9 per cent of cases in 2010 were either rejected, withdrawn or the asylum seeker concerned was transferred to another EU
state to have their case heard. In 2009, the commissioner recommended granting refugee status to 97 asylum applicants, which amounted to a 2.5 per cent refugee recognition rate. The commissioner’s 2010 annual report shows 1,939 asylum applications were made in 2010, a 27.9 per cent fall compared to 2009. This is the lowest number of new applications for more than a decade.