More than 500 people were granted refugee status in the Republic last year, entitling them to live and work permanently in the State and receive health, education and other services on the same basis as Irish nationals.
More than two-thirds of the 511 immigrants granted refugee status were first turned down by Department of Justice officials, but succeeded when they appealed to the Independent Appeals Authority.
The figures for 1999 represent a significant increase on the 168 immigrants granted refugee status the previous year, and bring to 947 the number of people granted refugee status since 1994. The Department of Justice said the increase resulted from a greater number of applications and an increase from two to eight in the number of people hearing appeals.
Of the 5,248 cases for refugee status determined last year, 4,737 people were refused.
Fine Gael yesterday called for the State to accept 10,000 immigrants a year from outside the EU to overcome labour shortages. In a new immigration policy document, the party said an annual quota of 10,000 seemed reasonable, but could be adjusted if economic needs changed. Government plans for an immigrant work visa scheme announced last month did not include a quota, but officials expect an annual intake of about 6,000.
Unlike economic migrants, people who apply for refugee status seek the right to live in the State on the grounds that they are fleeing persecution. The State is legally bound to protect such people, who are called asylum-seekers while their application for refugee status is being considered.
Fianna Fail TD Mr Ivor Callely, who previously called for a "get tough" policy on asylum-seekers, said last night the increase in the number of people granted refugee status did not worry him. "Anybody who is genuine should be given refugee status so I'm not worried about numbers. What I'm concerned about is that currently there are a large number of people who will not qualify because they are economic migrants."
Responding to the Fine Gael document, the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, said many of the current problems arose from the failure of the previous Rainbow government to act on the issue. He said Fine Gael had shown a "belated" interest in the issue, but his officials would examine the document to see if any of its proposals could assist policy.
In its document yesterday, Fine Gael proposed that all non-nationals who were eligible to apply for Irish citizenship should undertake special educational courses to familiarise themselves with "how the country works, its history, culture, values and democratic principles".
All immigrants should be integrated as fully as possible "to the Irish way of life and should be actively encouraged and assisted to become part of the Irish nation," the document says.
Entitled "Ireland Plus: a Proper Policy Response to Immigration", it proposes that a comprehensive range of educational programmes suitable to immigrants of all ages be developed by the Department of Education.
Fine Gael is also proposing an overhaul of the current work permits system for asylum-seekers. Under the Fine Gael policy all asylum-seekers who are eligible for employment would have their identification papers stamped accordingly, the party said. This system would mean asylum-seekers could approach employers and, having provided the necessary documentation, be offered jobs.