Measures to oblige asylum-seekers to make their claims for refugee status at their point of entry to the State are being considered by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform.
The proposals are part of a package of controls in the asylum area being prepared by Mr McDowell in an effort to discourage fraudulent asylum applications.
Some of these are due to go before the Oireachtas in the coming weeks as amendments to the Immigration Bill, 2002.
The majority of asylum applicants make their claims to the authorities in Dublin city rather than at ports, and officials have been concerned that some applicants may have already been in the State for some time, or could have sought asylum in another European Union country.
Mr McDowell said yesterday the "notion that people simply pop up from nowhere is one that is difficult to deal with in the context of freedom of movement of people in Europe." He said asylum-seekers were going to have to apply at an earlier stage for refugee status, as soon as they came into the country. Those who did not would have to demonstrate why they were claiming assistance from the State.
The exact details of how such a proposed system would operate have not yet been finalised. It is understood that it could include reduced welfare supports for people who failed to register their claim at the port of entry.
The UK authorities recently announced that from next month asylum-seekers who do not make their claims for refugee status as soon as they arrive at a port will forfeit their rights to state welfare benefits and accommodation.
In first ten months of this year. fewer than one in five asylum-seekers in the Republic registered their claims at ports or airports. More than 80 per cent of applicants first became known to the authorities upon arrival at the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner in Dublin city.
The Irish Refugee Council last night expressed concerns that asylum-seekers attempting to make a claim for refugee status at ports and airports could risk immediate deportation without having their cases processed. Mr Peter O'Mahony said that, while most immigration officials were excellent professionals, there had been too many worrying reports of people being refused leave to land or deported despite their intention to claim asylum.
The council had in the past been refused permission for a monitoring project at the airport. "Our main concern would be that if people are obliged to make applications at points of entry, the fact that there is no human rights presence or monitoring role means there is a risk that some people would be refused entry," he said.
The Immigration Bill also provides for on-the-spot fines for airlines or ferry companies carrying undocumented migrants into the State. Mr McDowell said he was examining whether it would be constitutional to reimburse carriers in cases where such migrants subsequently turned out to be accorded refugee status on the basis that they were fleeing persecution.
Asylum-seekers granted refugee status are entitled to live and work permanently in the State with the same rights as Irish citizens. About one in 10 applicants are recognised as refugees.
Meanwhile, Mr McDowell said he had spoken with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in Dublin about increasing the annual intake of "programme" refugees received by Ireland. He said the intake, currently set at 10 families per year, would not be token numbers. It could be 500 cases or more per year, depending on circumstances.