A total of 13,227 people sought international protection in the State last year, new figures show, down by 400 on the previous year.
The numbers do not include the 102,000 Ukrainians who have fled to Ireland since Russia invaded their homeland in February 2022.
The number of applicants in each of the last two years has been almost t three times the 2019 total, when Ireland received 4,781 requests for international protection.
This “big jump” leaves Ireland to “more or less on a par” with the European norm, said Richard Dixon, who leads the office that processes and determines protection applications, including requests from Ukrainians under a specific temporary protection scheme.
This article is from the Irish Times on January 10th 2024.
The full article can be found HERE
