The number of Bangladeshi youth who apply for asylum in Ireland has tripled in a year.The number of Bangladeshi youth who applied for asylum in Ireland has tripled in a year, The Irish Times newspaper reports.
A total of 99 Bangladeshi nationals applied for asylum in the entire year of 2014 but in nine months of 2015, as many as 231 claims were lodged.
The Bangladeshi nationals have lodged the highest number of asylum claims only except Pakistanis who filed 1,118 applications of asylum in nine months this year, compared to 292 of their claims last year, according to the report.
The newspaper said young Asian men were driving resurgence in asylum applications to Ireland.
The number of people from India claiming asylum has also increased significantly, albeit from a very low base, the report pointed out. Last year, just 12 people from India claimed asylum in Ireland, with that figure increasing to 105 in the first nine months of this year.
The number of asylum seekers from the subcontinent has surged ahead at a time when movement of people fleeing trouble spots, especially in the Middle East post-Arab spring, has presented huge challenges for many European countries.
In a follow-up report, The Irish Times quoting the justice minister said the justice department is in contact with authorities in the United Kingdom about the increase in numbers of young Pakistani and Bangladeshi men seeking asylum in Ireland
The minister, Frances Fitzgerald, was quoted to have said the government is working closely with UK authorities to deal with the issue, which has been notable for young men on student visas in the UK travelling to Ireland in order to prolong their stay in Europe.
