Issues of the week: Where do asylum-seekers go now?

Across Europe asylum applications are on the increase and Ireland, for the first time in more than a decade, is no exception. Last year, there was an increase of just over 50 per cent in numbers seeking refuge in the Republic, up from 946 in 2013 to 1,444.

Most asylum seekers here were from Pakistan (20 per cent), followed by Nigeria (10 per cent), Albania and Bangladesh (both 7 per cent) and Zimbabwe (6 per cent).

Irish numbers are still relatively low in European terms and accounted for 0.3 per cent of the EU’s asylum seekers in the 12 months up to last September. This was the first increase since 2002 when numbers peaked at 11,600. Numbers fell each year in the following decade. This is in contrast to most other EU countries, where numbers have been rising steadily.

Reasons, some experts say, may include the introduction of the direct provision system of accommodation here, restrictions on Irish citizenship for the children of non-Irish parents and the economic downturn.

In the EU, meanwhile, the numbers seeking protection are set to reach their highest point in almost two decades, with the largest number from war-torn Syria.

Eurostat figures show more than half a million (538,000) people sought refuge in the 12 months to last September. That's a rise of nearly a third on the previous 12-month period.

Nearly 100,000 of these applicants were Syrians, followed by Afghans and Eritreans.

The numbers arriving to individual countries vary considerably. Germany is the main destination and accounted for 32 per cent. In all, Germany, France, Sweden, Britain, Italy and Belgium received 74 per cent of all applications.

When the numbers are broken down by applicants per million of population, there are some surprising results.

The latest annual figures of this kind relate to 2013 which show that Sweden had the highest number of applicants (5,700 applicants per million inhabitants).

It was followed by Malta (5,300) and Austria (2,100). Ireland ranked towards the middle of the European table (200 per million).

When it comes to recognition of claims for asylum or protection, again, there were major differences across member states. Figures for 2013 show Sweden recognised most applications (26,400), followed by Germany (26,100), France (16,200), Italy (14,500) and the UK 3,400).

All together, these five member states accounted for more than 70 per cent of all those granted protection status in the EU28. Ireland recognised 205 applications.