Why are refugees still coming from Ukraine, is Ireland taking more refugees from Ukraine than other countries? Expand The situation in Ukraine is deteriorating. Fillipo Grandi, the Director of UNHCR stated, in January 2023: “I was appalled by the level of destruction I saw as a result of Russian missiles and shelling,” Grandi said at the end of his visit. “Civilian infrastructure like power plants, water systems, kindergartens and apartment buildings have been damaged or destroyed. Civilians, including children and the elderly, have been killed or fled their homes, having their entire lives uprooted by these senseless attacks.” The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stated in its February 2023 report23: “Since the Russian Federation's 24 February invasion of Ukraine, the number of people in need of humanitarian aid and protection increased from approximately 3 million people to nearly 18 million, and hostilities and fighting spread across the country. Throughout the year, millions of Ukrainians endured intense hostilities, which killed and injured thousands of civilians, forced millions from their homes, destroyed jobs and livelihoods, and left many struggling to access food, water, health care, education, a safe place to live, and other essential services. For people in the east of the country – in Donetska and Luhanska oblasts – this only further exhausted their coping capacities, already limited by the years of fighting in the region.” As of 10 February there are 8,054,405 refugees from Ukraine recorded across Europe. There are 73,002 refugees from Ukraine in Ireland (0.9% of the total number of refugees). As a comparison the number of people receiving temporary protection in a sample of other countries is: Czech Republic: 485,775 France: 118,994 Germany: 881,399 Finland: 49,290 Lithuania: 73,606
Why has there been an increase in people seeking protection in Ireland in recent months 2022? Expand EU+ countries received some 107,300 asylum applications in November 2022, a new high since 2016 and the third consecutive month with around 100,000 applications. Ireland is not alone in receiving an increase in applications. The Economic and Social Research Institute published research in November 2022 which identified the following as a factor: Post-COVID-19 catch-up, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and conditions in countries of origin Research identifies that for many of the top nationalities applying for international protection in Ireland (including Somali, Afghan, Ukrainian, Egyptian and Georgian), conditions and conflict in countries of origin are important drivers. Applications from these nationalities are increasing not only in Ireland, but across Europe. Movement of refugees from other EU Member States to Ireland also appears to be playing a role in Ireland’s increase, although it is difficult to draw concrete conclusions because the available data is limited. Reasons may include reuniting with family, living conditions in the first EU Member States, as well as limited possibilities for intra-EU mobility. Policy changes in the UK were unlikely to have had a significant effect on recent application figures in Ireland. However, there may be a small deflection effect for certain nationalities (e.g., South African and Zimbabwean), whereby instead of going to the UK, applicants come to Ireland. Applications from other nationalities are on the rise generally in the UK. While a generally positive perception of Ireland was also found to be a potential factor, the research concluded that it was highly unlikely that specific integration or reception policies in Ireland were influencing applications. Results from the confluence of short-term and likely temporary drivers increasing absolute numbers, with potentially longer-term drivers changing distribution patterns.
How are people seeking protection accommodated and do they get automatic access to housing? Expand An international protection applicant has no entitlement to social housing or to be on the social housing waiting list. If they do not have money to rent they receive accommodation, this is often referred to as Direct Provision. In recent years this accommodation has included office blocks, hotels, convention centre halls and tents. In January 2023 the government stated that it may no longer accommodate single adults. Hundreds have arrived into homelessness since the January. If, after their application is considered, someone is recognised as a refugee and they need housing, they must apply to go on to the social housing waiting list. They have no priority access to the list and are subject to the same waiting times as others.
How many people are recognised as refugees in Ireland and are we different to other European countries? Are all asylum seekers recognised as refugees? How long does it take for an asylum claim to be considered? Expand How many people are recognised as refugees in Ireland and are we different to other European countries? Are all asylum seekers recognised as refugees? How long does it take for an asylum claim to be considered? Recognition rates compared: In 2022, 35% of decisions made in Ireland resulted in a person being given refugee or subsidiary protection.15 As a comparison, the average EU recognition rate across all member states for 2021 was 34%.16 The EU recognition rate for the month of November 2022 (most recent monthly statistics available from the EU Asylum Agency) was 39% in November. Application rates compared: In 2021 Ireland received 0.4% of the EU’s total asylum applications. For the month of November 2022, Ireland received 0.1% of the EU’s total asylum applications.
Why do some protection applicants arrive without a passport? How many and why do people not present a passport on arrival at the airport? Expand A travel document and passport is a crucial form of identity, without it a person may struggle to show that they are from the country they say they are from. 70,000 people applied for protection, from Ukraine and around the world in Ireland, in 2022, a small proportion did not have a document. We should be careful about overstating that being undocumented is a widespread phenomenon. It is also worth noting, that reports state that people did not provide a document. We recommend caution around an automatic assumption that it was destroyed. Article 31 of the Refugee Convention14 states a person seeking refugee status must still have their application processed even if he or she has entered a state illegally. The International Protection Act states that a person who is at the frontier of the State (whether lawfully or unlawfully) may make an application for international protection. This rationale exists because there is no visa to claim asylum, and it is very difficult for a person from a refugee-producing country to get a visa. People are often forced to travel in a way that requires them to travel in illegal or irregular ways, including using a smuggler who may take the passport back off the person when travelling. A person, in our experience, may not produce a document for several reasons: Fear of retribution: For some, it will not have been possible or safe for them to obtain passports or visas to travel. For example, in Afghanistan passports were not being issued for months, and people put their lives at risk by attending the offices to seek a passport. For this reason, some people will have no option but to rely on a false documents to travel. They fear retribution if this is discovered and do not feel comfortable disclosing documents. Fear of immediate removal: some people may fear if they produce the document they will be immediately removed back to the country of origin or the country from which they have travelled from. Smugglers and traffickers: People are often forced to travel in a way that requires them to travel in illegal or irregular ways, including using a smuggler who may take the passport back off the person when travelling. It is worth noting that safe pathways were opened for people fleeing Ukraine in the aftermath of the Russian invasion. People were allowed to board flights with birth certificates or internal identity documents. Visa rules were significantly loosened. This was a commendable response. Section 20 of the International Protection Act does give the power to arrest someone if they have not made reasonable efforts to establish their identity or if they have destroyed their travel document.
Why do some protection applicants come from ‘safe’ countries such as Georgia, how does Ireland consider these applications? Expand Some countries are designated as a safe country of origin by Ireland. This means that it can be shown that there is generally and consistently no persecution, no torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and no threat by reason of indiscriminate violence in situations of international or internal armed conflict. If someone comes from a safe third country, an individual assessment of their application must still be made and 8 the International Protection Office will still consider a person’s application for refugee status. A person from a safe third country can still be recognised as a refugee. As an example, between January and June 2022, 256 decisions were made on Georgian applications. 20% received refugee status , i.e. 2 in 10.9 In 2021 18% of Georgian appeals were successful.10 Ireland is not alone in receiving asylum applications from Georgia. Georgians have been one of the 10 main applicant groups in the EU almost every month since May 2021. In November 2022 the Irish government introduced a new procedure to consider applications from safe countries of origin. The EU Asylum Agency have stated that the invasion of Ukraine has been a key factor influencing the increase in Georgian nationals applying for international protection in the EU12 as the worsening economic and socio-political conditions leave many desperate.
How does Ireland decide who is a refugee and how long does this process take? Expand Refugee status determination in Ireland is, in our 30-year experience, rigorous and involves a detailed examination of a person’s application. A refugee is a person who has a well-founded fear of persecution on account of one of five reasons (race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion). If a person is not recognised as a refugee, their application will also be considered as to whether they should receive subsidiary protection. To receive subsidiary protection substantial grounds have shown that the person is at risk of serious harm, such as the death penalty or execution, torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or serious and individual threat to a civilian’s life because of internal or international armed conflict. The median processing time for all international protection cases (which includes decisions on permission to remain) processed to completion by the IPO in Quarter 4 of 2022 was 10 months. The median processing time for cases processed to completion for all of 2022 was 18 months. If a person is refused refugee status they have one right of appeal to the International Protection Appeals Tribunal.
What is the registration process people seeking international protection must undertake? Expand The majority of international protection applicants arrive at Dublin airport, some also arrive via different ports of entry. They are interviewed by an immigration officer on arrival. Irish law gives the power to arrest someone if they have not made reasonable efforts to establish their identity or if they have destroyed their travel document. They are then directed to the International Protection Office on Mount Street in Dublin where they are registered. This includes being fingerprinted, photographed. Their passport is taken from them, if they have one, and remains in the possession of the IPO during the asylum process. Their fingerprints are taken and checked on an international database (Eurodac) to establish if they have applied for asylum elsewhere in the EU. They will also be checked against Interpol and Europol databases. They are subject to a preliminary interview which asks questions about identity and nationality. They are assigned an identity number. If they need accommodation, they are given a designated address at which they must reside. Currently some adult asylum seekers are not being offered accommodation. Since November 2022 new procedures will be introduced in the International Protection Office to accelerate the process for making a protection application in Ireland. The main purpose of these new regulations is to establish an accelerated process for international protection applicants from safe countries of origin.1 On the day of application, or shortly after, they must complete a detailed questionnaire on arrival, in person at the International Protection Office. They are then subject to a substantive and detailed interview about the details of their protection application claim. The Irish Refugee Council have criticised these changes as they remove, in our opinion, the possibility of practically accessing legal advice before a person completes the questionnaire. Their application is subject to the Dublin III Regulation if they have applied for asylum in another EU country, it can also be deemed inadmissible if the person is deemed to have a sufficient connection to a safe third country such as the United Kingdom. Irish law states that a person can be excluded from refugee protection if they have committed a serious crime.