They've been in the west almost six months and yet a group of skilled young professionals still await news of their attempt to settle here and apply for work. Among them are a medical doctor, a chemist, two economics graduates, an accountant, a plumber, a film producer, a fashion/interior designer, a motor mechanic, a nurse, a secretary, two teachers, a seamstress, a dispatch clerk, an historian, a geographer, a marketing consultant, a hairdresser and a farmer.
That's just a flavour of the occupations among the group in Clifden, and of course there are more in Cong and in various parts of Galway city, as reported in this column several months ago.
Thanks to the enlightened approach taken by the Galway One World Centre and the respective hostel-owning hosts in Connemara, most asylum-seekers deployed to the Galway area have not experienced the same level of tension evident in other parts of the State.
There were some less than welcoming statements by local politicians early on, there have been problems with aspects of the accommodation, the Western Health Board has to cope with short notice of arrivals from Dublin, and one can find the predictable graffiti in the city area.
However, there have been positive aspects, such as the multinational participation in the St Patrick's Day parade in Galway; and a Progressive Democrats councillor recently expressed support for the right to temporary employment - in spite of his party leader's stated opposition to it.
However, the Clifden Refugee Support Group has become the latest body to express concern about the impact delays in asylum applications is having on people forbidden from taking up paid employment. It has called for a change in regulations to allow for temporary work permits. Chaired by Dr Sophie Faherty of Clifden, the group has regular meetings and tries to provide moral and tactical support for asylum-seekers currently housed in Dun Gibbons hostel just outside the town.
There should be no shortage of work opportunities. The western branch of the Irish Business and Employers' Confederation highlights the need to attract immigrant workers to the region, in its report last Friday. The IBEC West regional plan argues that the area has significant competitive advantages over Dublin in this regard, but says the cost of housing poses the greatest threat.
The critical analysis of commercial and physical infrastructure and human resources in four counties - Mayo, Galway, Roscommon and Westmeath - says employers must adapt recruitment policies to focus on "untapped" sources of labour - women between the ages of 25 and 64. It says information from the 1996 Census indicates that 26.4 per cent of the total female population in the west in this age band is not in a "formal working environment".
To woo this "untapped source" away from "home duties", as the report describes it, employers must address the issue of childcare and creation of a more flexible work schedule.
The IBEC study is the result of a year's consultation and research on a wide spectrum of issues concerning employers in the west, summarised in three sections dealing with physical and commercial infrastructure, and human resources.
On physical infrastructure, it calls for a better return on the given transport network which, it says, can only be achieved through shifting demand from road routes to alternative modes. Currently, the west is at a significant competitive disadvantage in terms of distance from markets.
It points out that much of the recent debate on the mainline rail investment programme has been justified on safety grounds, rather than on a commercial and economic basis. It recommends a greater emphasis on upgrading rolling stock, sticking to schedules and introducing extra services. In relation to air links from Knock, Co Mayo, and Galway airport, it calls for the introduction of joint risk-sharing ventures whereby the Government and airlines would all share the risk in the initial stages of a new service.
A Strategy for Change is published by IBEC West at Ross House, Victoria Place, Galway (tel: 091-561109).
Aer Arann has just inaugurated a new Galway-Dublin service, timed to suit day-trippers between the two cities and to meet connections to the Aer Lingus network at Dublin.