Returning Irish and migrant workers are being impoverished by poor standards and harsh regulations in the social welfare system, it has been claimed by Emigrant Advice.
The project, run by the Dublin Archdiocese, has called for an investigation into the way decisions on social welfare claims are made.
This follows criticism of the system by Brian Flynn, director of the Social Welfare Appeals Office.
In his 2006 annual report launched on Friday, Mr Flynn said appeals officers were concerned at "the deteriorating standards of decision-making and poor quality of file presentation" by Department of Social and Family Affairs and HSE staff dealing with cases coming before them on appeal.
Emigrant Advice spokesman Joe O'Brien welcomed these comments and said the issues raised by Mr Flynn must be addressed.
Mr O'Brien said Emigrant Advice had seen social welfare payments being refused where it seemed that the full circumstances were not taken into account.
"Anecdotally, we hear that this is discouraging some people from returning to Ireland," he said.
"Between May 2004 and April 2006, 880 Irish people were refused a payment because they were not classified as habitually resident in Ireland. We see returning Irish emigrants being refused payments because of this rule."
He referred to one case where a returned emigrant was refused social welfare, then granted a payment on appeal but then refused when he went to collect it. Mr O'Brien said there was a lack of clarity in the rules for community welfare officers and social welfare officers, and a lack of interpreter services.
"This is serving to marginalise not just returning Irish but also migrant workers," he said.
"We see migrant workers with weak English language skills unclear on why they have been refused a basic supplementary welfare payment by a community welfare officer. Without an adequate interpretation service they can be neither accurately assessed nor fully informed of the payment decision," he added.
"Quite often it turns out that they have an entitlement after we listen to their full story."
