Just under one in five failed asylum-seekers against whom deportation orders were made have been deported, the Minister for Justice has said.
Mr O'Donoghue said he has made 1,132 deportation orders since the Immigration Act came into force in July 1999, and 222 people were deported since then - up until last week.
Six people were deported in 1999, 187 last year and 29 this year until earlier this month. Mr O'Donoghue said a further 22 people had left the State before deportation orders could be enforced.
The statistics were included in a recent written Dail reply by the Minister to the Labour Party TD, Mr Dick Spring.
Regarding outstanding deportation cases, Mr O'Donoghue said 353 people had evaded deportation orders, 164 were not at their last known address and 207 had been granted leave to seek judicial review in the High Court.
He said "arrangements were being put in place" in respect of another 49 people. Sixty people would have to have their return negotiated with the authorities in their respective countries of origin. Deportation orders in respect of the remaining 55 people are being or have been revoked, primarily on the basis of legal advice, he added.
Mr O'Donoghue said there were 10,127 asylum applicants awaiting an initial decision on their application for refugee status by the end of the last year. If granted refugee status, the asylum applicants can remain in Ireland and enjoy the same rights as Irish citizens. If their claims for refugee status are rejected following appeal, they are liable to be deported.
Some 2,004 asylum appeals were outstanding at the end of last month, the Minister said. He said the current processing time for asylum applications, including appeals, could range between four months and two years. If there is no appeal, the processing time is between three and 20 months.
Mr O'Donoghue said the Government had agreed last year to allocate major additional resources, including recruiting 370 additional staff, to speed up the processing of applications.
The Minister said the additional resources and staff were greatly increasing processing capacity and delivering more speedy decisions on applications for refugee status.
The Irish Refugee Council recently criticised the ongoing delays in processing asylum claims and said people awaiting a decision for two years should be "regularised" and allowed remain in Ireland. This proposal was rejected by the Department of Justice.