The number of asylum applicants has fallen to its lowest in almost a decade, with 4,314 people having sought refugee status last year.
Official figures provided to The Irish Timesshow that the top five source countries for asylum applications last year were Nigeria (24 per cent), Sudan (7 per cent), Romania (7 per cent), Iraq (5 per cent) and Iran (5 per cent).
When 294 transfer orders - under which an asylum-seeker is returned to the EU country in which they first arrived - were taken into account, the number of cases processed in the State fell to 4,000.
The decrease in the number of asylum applications in recent years has been linked to a number of factors such as the change in citizenship rules for children of foreign nationals, tougher fines for carriers of asylum-seekers and a general decline in asylum figures across Europe.
Last year's total number of applications represents a 63 per cent decrease on the 2002 total - 11,634 applications were received during that year.
The 2006 total is the lowest recorded since 1998, when some 4,626 asylum applications were recorded.
Just over 300 deportation orders to non-EU countries were carried out last year, while a further 227 people who would otherwise have been removed from the State opted to be assisted to return home voluntarily.
The number of transfer orders - also known as the Dublin II regulation - has been increasing in recent years. Transfers to other EU member-states last year (294) represented an increase of 41 per cent on the 2005 figure (209).
People applying for asylum, or appealing refusals to grant it, can also expect to spend a shorter period living in Ireland than previously. Backlogs at the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner and at the Refugee Appeals Tribunal have been reduced.
Applicants are now being interviewed within nine to 12 days of making their application, while prioritised asylum applications are being processed within 17 to 20 working days, according to Department of Justice figures.
In a statement, Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said that he welcomed the continuing downward trend in asylum applications.
"It allows the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service to continue to increase the priority given to other areas of its operations, such as processing applications for visas and citizenship as well as other immigration-related functions, including the enhancement of the deportation process for persons found to have no protection needs," he commented.
Mr McDowell said that the large increase in transfer orders under the Dublin II regulation was welcome and was reducing the number of applications being processed in the State.
The asylum system is set to undergo a number of changes later this year with the enactment of the new Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill.
This legislation aims to empower the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service to become a "one-stop shop" for immigration, asylum, visa and citizenship services.
Asylum Applications
2006- 4,314
2005- 4,323
2004- 4,766
2003- 7,900
2002- 11,634
2001- 10,325
2000- 10,938
1999- 7,724
1998- 4,626
1997- 3,883
Source: Department of Justice
