Number of Albanian asylum-seekers in Ireland plummet after strict measures by Irish gov’t

Tirana Times
By Tirana Times January 1, 2020 13:57

Number of Albanian asylum-seekers in Ireland plummet after strict measures by Irish gov’t

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  • The rising number of Albanian and Georgian asylum-seekers in Ireland has become concerning as 2019 marked the year with the highest number of applications, accounting for 38 percent of the total.

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TIRANA, Jan. 1 - The number of asylum applications lodged by Albanians in the Republic of Ireland dropped significantly during October of 2019, after serious measures were taken by the Irish Government to tighten up immigration and airline control. During an interview with the Irish Times, the Minister for Justice, Charlie Flanagan, said that most Albanian citizens who sought international protection carried fake documents with them in order to get to Dublin, destroying them before reaching passport control.

The rising number of Albanian and Georgian asylum-seekers in Ireland has become concerning as 2019 marked the year with the highest number of applications, accounting for 38 percent of the total. In comparison to 2018, this number increased by 13 percent.  During the past few years both have dominated the list of asylum-seeker origin countries in the European Union as well, with little difference between them. However, according to Irish Times, applications from Albanians in Ireland surpassed those from Georgians at a total of 965 applications earlier in 2019. This makes Albania the country with the most asylum-seekers in Ireland with the exception of Syria.

“It’s important that our immigration laws are robust and that they are enforced and what we are seeing, particularly at our ports and airports, is a rapid turnaround. And people who don’t have an entitlement under our laws to reside here are being denied access,” Flanagan said further in regard to the recent measures. He added that Albania is considered a safe country of origin and thus many of its citizens who seek international protection in Ireland do not qualify for it.

 

Tirana Times
By Tirana Times January 1, 2020 13:57