Around 72% of people were refused refugee status and subsidiary protection at the first stage of the process this year so far, but applicants have the chance to appeal the decision. This doesn’t work more often than it does, but a large percentage of applicants are given permission to stay on “humanitarian or family grounds.”

“When you factor in the people who get remain for non-protection grounds, it’s probably a little bit closer to 50%,” O’Sullivan, the deputy secretary general of the Department of Justice, admitted.

The number of international protection applicants last year was 13,651, a 186% growth compared to 2019. This time last year, the number of people covered by the International Protection Accommodation Services was 11,000. As of May 21st of this year, there are at least 20,648 accommodated.