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IRISH CENTRE FOR MIGRATION STUDIES
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applying
for asylum
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asylum seeker, refugee and immigrant issuesbackground |
Focus on Asylum-seeker and Immigrant Lives Trends and Experiences (FAILTE)Immigration to Ireland is not a new phenomenon. What is new is that the number of immigrants exceeds the number of emigrants by a considerable margin. Ireland is thus, for the first time in its recent history, becoming a country of immigration. This in itself challenges many of our most cherished notions about identity, community and the acceptance of differing values and cultures. It also forces us to ask whether the country may truly be said to extend the same welcome to immigrants which Irish people themselves expected as emigrants to other places. Asylum seekers and refugees come to Ireland and other countries because they fear for their lives in their home places. They constitute a specific category, whose rights are set out in law. We have a duty and an obligation to admit them to our country if and when their case is proven. In the meantime they have a right to a fair and humane hearing and must be given access to appropriate legal, social, educational and other services. This site provides background facts and figures, documentation, comparative reports and links in this field. |
