Asylum Statistics

The trends in asylum applications in Ireland show a rapid increase from the mid-nineties to reach a highpoint of 11,634 in 2002 and then followed by a rapid and steep decline from 2003-2010. Until recently, numbers of new asylum claims had stabilised in the range 60-100 per month, which represented more than a 90% fall since the peak when around 1000 new applications per month were being lodged.

Table 1: Asylum Application Statistics
Year	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Number of Asylum Applications	956	946	1,448	3,726	2,224	2,926
Numbers Living in Direct Provision	4,841	4,360	4,364	4,696	4,425	5,096
Average Length of Stay (Months)	45	48	48	38	32	23

The single biggest issue facing asylum seekers in Ireland is the length of time spent awaiting a final determination of their claim. While significant progress has been made in recent years to address this issue, outstanding backlogs of legacy cases remain and average waiting time until interview is approximately 2 years.

Table 2: Length of Time of Direct Provision Residents in Asylum Process at end of 2017 (Based on Entry into RIA Accommodation)
<1 Year	1-2 Years	2-3 Years	3-4 Years	4-5 Years	5-6 Years	6-7 Years	7+ Years
2,221	1,116	1,117	438	213	127	101	204

In September 2015, the Irish Refugee Protection Programme was established in response to the EU Refugee Crisis and the Irish Government committed to accepting 4,000 persons through relocation and resettlement by the end of 2017.

Table 3: Irish Refugee Protection Programme Statistics
Number relocated in Ireland at end of 2017	755
Number resettled in Ireland at end of 2017	785