Less than one asylum seeker in 10 was granted refugee status in Ireland last year, according to new figures. Of the 4,314 applications for asylum made in the State, a total of 397 (9.4 per cent) were granted.
However, that represents an increase on previous years where the equivalent numbers granted asylum in 2004 and 2005 were 6.2 per cent and 8.7 per cent respectively.
The rest were either refused pending an appeal, withdrawn or asked to apply under the Dublin Convention in another country.
The number of applicants is less than half of what it was when the numbers seeking asylum in Ireland peaked in 2002 at 11,634, according to the sixth annual report of the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner.
The commission considers applications for refugee status and makes recommendations to the Minister for Justice on whether such status should be granted.
Nigeria which accounts for 24.1 per cent of all applicants, remains by far the largest source of asylum seekers followed by Sudan, Romania, Iraq and Iran.
Commissioner Berenice O'Neill said though the number of asylum seekers is declining, the diversity of those applying remained a "challenge".
Interpreters for 80 different languages were needed to cope with asylum seekers from 91 countries.
"Lack of interpreter availability in some languages can be a difficulty," she said.
"Cases continued to be more complex with some requiring more than one substantive interview. Multiple grounds were frequently claimed."
She added: "The profile of applicants showed that, in the main, there continued to be a small number applying from each country."
A total of 79 per cent of all applications received during 2006 were processed during the year and 90 per cent of all applications were dealt with within eight to 10 weeks.
The commissioner also reported progress on the processing time for family reunification applications which seeks to unite successful applicants with their family.
The waiting time for applicants has been slashed from nine months at the start of 2006 to 2.5 months by year end.
