Author
Overview of statistical practice
Since January 2017, the International Protection Office (IPO) has been responsible for receiving and examining applications. The IPO publishes brief monthly statistical reports on international protection applications.[1]The Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) (formerly Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS)) is part of the Department of Justice and Equality and provides data about asylum and managed migration in Ireland to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. This data is published on the EU open data portal along with data from other European countries.[2]
Applications and granting of protection status at first instance: 2021
| Applicants in 2021 (1) | Pending at end 2021 | Refugee status (2) | Subsidiary protection (2) | Humanitarian protection (2) | Rejection (2) | Refugee rate | Sub. Prot. rate | Hum. Prot. rate | Rejection rate | ||
| Total | 2,649 | 5,430 | 800 | 70 | 590 | 85 | 51.8% | 4.5% | 38.2% | 5.5% | |
|
Breakdown by countries of origin of the total numbers |
|||||||||||
| Nigeria | 451 | 911 | 35 | 0 | 115 | 25 | 20% | 0% | 65.7% | 14.3% | |
| Georgia | 338 | 606 | 10 | 0 | 30 | 5 | 22.2% | 0% | 66.7% | 11.1% | |
| Somalia | 334 | – | 210 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 93.3% | 6.7% | 0% | 0% | |
| Afghanistan | 202 | – | 140 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 93.3% | 3.3% | 0% | 0% | |
| Zimbabwe | 145 | 413 | 40 | 0 | 95 | 10 | 27.6% | 0% | 65.5% | 6.9% | |
Source: International Protection Office, April 2022; Eurostat.
- The number includes both first time and subsequent applicants. According to the IPO, first time applicants in 2021 were 2,612; subsequent applicants were 38.
- These figures refer to Eurostat data. According to the IPO, applicants recognised refugee status in 2021 were 800; 68 were recognised subsidiary protection and 591 humanitarian protection. Only 2 applications were dismissed as inadmissible, while 84 were rejected on the merits.[3]
Gender/age breakdown of the total number of applicants: 2021
| Number | Percentage | |
| Total number of applicants | 2,649 | – |
| Men | 1,706 | 64.40% |
| Women | 944 | 35.63% |
| Children | 668 | 25.21% |
| Unaccompanied children | 53 | 2% |
Source: International Protection Office, April 2022.
Comparison between first instance and appeal decision rates: 2021
| First instance | Appeal | |||
| Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | |
| Total number of decisions | 1,545 | – | 1,052 | – |
| Positive decisions | 1,459 | 94.4% | 351 | 33.37% |
|
800 | 51.8% | – | – |
|
68 | 4.5% | – | – |
| Negative decisions | 86 | 5.5% | 669 | 63.36% |
Source: Minister for Justice and Equality Helen McEntee, Response to Parliamentary Question No 589, 8 February 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3JF3sKZ.
[1] IPO, Statistics, available at: http://bit.ly/2FlF0Nn.
[2] ISD, Open Data, available at: https://bit.ly/3atHKHG.
[3] International Protection Office, April 2022.