The perception of Ireland as an "easy" country for asylum-seekers is not borne out by official figures, according to a report published today.
The study by two UCD academics concludes that asylum-seekers seem less likely to gain refugee status in Ireland than in many other European countries, even if they come from regions of well-documented strife.
Asylum-seekers are people seeking recognition as refugees on the basis that they fear persecution at home on grounds including race, religion, political opinion and membership of a particular social group.
People granted refugee status in the State are entitled to similar rights as Irish-born people and can apply for citizenship after two years. People who are not recognised as refugees are liable to be deported.
The 108-page study, Lives on Hold: Seeking Asylum in Ireland, says Ireland has become a destination for asylum-seekers since 1996, although total numbers still remain small. The number of people seeking asylum increased from 424 in 1995 to 4,626 in 1998 and 7,724 in 1999.
The report says the rising numbers are part of a trend of increases to "outer" European countries. The overall ratio of asylum-seekers to inhabitants in Ireland remains at around the middle of the EU range.
The research was carried out by Dr Pauline Faughnan and Ms Mairide Woods of UCD's Social Science Research Centre.
The study shows that when Ireland received fewer asylum-seekers, its recognition rate was high. In 1995, when 424 people claimed asylum, 57 per cent of applicants were recognised by either being granted refugee status or temporary leave to remain.
By 1998, when 4,626 people sought asylum, the recognition rate fell to 13 per cent. Provisional figures for 1999 and the first half of 2000 indicate a similar recognition rate. This compares with Denmark where favourable decisions were made in 55 per cent of 5,700 cases in 1998, 44 per cent of 1,270 applications in Finland and 29 per cent of 46,000 in the UK.
The study points out that in 1998 asylum-seekers from Somalia, "where the dangers of war and persecution are well accepted", had an average recognition rate of 69 per cent by industrialised countries.
Denmark, a country comparable to Ireland both in geographical position and experience of refugees, made favourable decisions in respect of 92 per cent of Somalis; in Ireland, the recognition rate for Somali asylum-seekers was 36 per cent.
The average recognition rate in 1998 for asylum-seekers from the Democratic Republic of Congo, another country which the report says is experiencing upheaval, was 26 per cent. Ireland's figure for that year was less than 5 per cent, while the average rate for industrialised countries was 33 per cent.
"The perception that Ireland is an `easy' asylum country is not borne out, when recognition rates are compared with either the average for industrialised countries or with the UNHCR overall average," the report states.
Judging by 1998 recognition rates, "asylum-seekers seem less likely to gain refugee status in Ireland than in many other European countries, even if they come from regions of well-documented strife. "The rise in numbers claiming asylum in Europe is linked to conflict and poverty in other parts of the world; it is also linked to the absence of a legal avenue into Europe for would-be immigrants."
Ms Faughnan said the Republic was "a favoured destination because of our social welfare or the Celtic Tiger, but while the numbers have risen it was from a very low base, so it's a question of catching up rather than leading the field at this stage".
Almost three-quarters of those who sought asylum in Ireland during 1992-99 came from Romania and Nigeria. Last year Ireland received more than a quarter of all Romanians seeking asylum in Europe.