Asylum rate near lowest in Europe

ASYLUM seekers are less likely to be granted refugee status or other form of protection in Ireland than almost anywhere else in Europe, according to new EU figures.

The report shows that Ireland has one of the worst records in the EU for granting asylum to refugees. Just 4% of asylum seekers here were granted protection last year – the second lowest rate of any of the 27 EU countries. Only Greece has a poorer record, with just 1% of applicants being granted asylum there.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/asylum-rate-near-lowest-in-europe-122993.html#ixzz0rWVHE22e

Concern over refusal of refugees

THE Irish Refugee Council said a study needed to be carried out to see why Ireland accepted so few asylum seekers, writes Shane Hickey.

It said just 4pc of those who applied here for refugee status here were given the go-ahead.

Yesterday, the agency marked World Refugee Day with a number of events in Dublin.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/concern-over-refusal-of-refugees-2227342.html

Tribunal rejects 92% of refugee appeals

THE REFUGEE Appeals Tribunal rejected 92 per cent of the appeals it ruled on last year, which marks a fifth successive annual rise in the rejection rate for asylum appeals.

The tribunal affirmed 2,987 decisions of the Refugee Applications Commissioner in 2009 and set aside 266 decisions. Almost half the successful appeals against decisions not to grant refugee status (50) were lodged by Iraqis.

The tribunal overturned 7 per cent of decisions not to grant refugee status to people from Moldova and 6 per cent of decisions to people from Zimbabwe and DR Congo. It accepted 3 per cent of appeals lodged by Nigerians and Pakistanis respectively, according to the tribunal’s 2009 annual report released yesterday.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0511/1224270128837.html

Haiti victims should be allowed settle here, says FG

VICTIMS of the Haitian earthquake should be allowed to re-settle in Ireland, Fine Gael yesterday urged

The party’s overseas aid spokesman Billy Timmins said a glut of empty properties across the country could be used to house survivors of the disaster that is estimated to have left 200,000 people dead and 3 million displaced in the poverty-stricken Caribbean nation.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/victims-should-be-allowed-settle-here-says-fg-110249.html#ixzz0dNu67azx

Refugee accommodation centres make €1.5m profit

ONE of the country's leading providers of asylum seeker and refugee accommodation more than doubled its operating profits to €1.5m last year.

Newly filed accounts for Bridgestock Ltd show the operating profit to June 2008 was more than double the €619,000 made the previous year.

Jointly operated by Seamus and Kathleen Gillen, the company operates eight accommodation centres across the country.

http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/bridgestock--takes-in-836415m--as-profits-double-1861693.html

Zimbabwean challenges refusal of citizenship

A YOUNG Zimbabwean man has brought a High Court challenge to the refusal to grant him Irish citizenship on grounds he was not of good character arising from his conviction for drink driving.

Noel Dick (23), Goldsmith Street, Phibsboro, Dublin, yesterday secured permission from Mr Justice Michael Peart to challenge the refusal of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to grant him a certificate of naturalisation.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0707/1224250171842.html

European court ruling clarifies asylum law

PEOPLE FLEEING violence and seeking safety in the European Union do not have to prove that their lives are specifically under threat if they come from a sufficiently dangerous country, the European Court of Justice has ruled.

In an important clarification of European asylum law, the court yesterday decided that people seeking “subsidiary protection” because they fear for their life at home do not have to prove they have been personally targeted, if their country is seen as sufficiently dangerous.

Under exceptional circumstances, applicants can be allowed to stay in the EU because indiscriminate violence is so common in their home country that they would be in danger if they stayed.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0218/1224241331606.html

Refugees allowed to contest refusal to let relatives join them

TWO SOMALI nationals who have been granted refugee status here have secured leave from the High Court to challenge the Minister for Justice’s refusal to allow them to bring their families to Ireland.

The plaintiffs and their families want the court to quash the Minister’s refusal of their application for family reunification under section 18 of the 1996 Refugee Act.

They are also seeking the Minister to reconsider as a matter of urgency the matter in a manner that is lawful and fair.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0217/1224241277516.html

78 Burmese refugees to be resettled in Ireland

SEVENTY EIGHT Burmese refugees are due to arrive in Ireland next month after being selected for resettlement here under a United Nations scheme.

The group of 16 families, who belong to Burma’s Rohingya minority, left their country in 1992 and have been living in camps on the Bangladesh/Burmese border since then. They will spend six weeks at an orientation centre in Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo to prepare them for permanent resettlement in other towns.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0216/1233867938522.html

Unlimited detention plan for immigrants ‘draconian’

MEASURES which mean immigration officers may be able to hold foreign nationals for an unlimited time and deport people without notice have been labelled draconian by the Irish Refugee Council.

Currently being debated in the Dáil, refugee and immigration groups are concerned The Immigration Residence and Protection Bill 2008 needlessly extends the power of immigration officers, many of whom are not gardaí and who cannot be held accountable for their decisions.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/irishexaminer/pages/story.aspx-qqqg=ireland-qqqm=ireland-qqqa=ireland-qqqid=73819-qqqx=1.asp

Ireland to take in Tanzanian refugees

Refugees from Tanzania are to be resettled in Ireland under a UN program, it emerged today.

Minister for Integration Conor Lenihan and officials are to travel to the West African country next month to finalise details.

The Tanzania refugees, who are expected to arrive in Ireland in coming months, will be resettled in a town selected by the Office of Integration after detailed local consultation.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/mhqleyeyojey/