Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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131. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons who entered the direct provision system in each year since 2000; the numbers of persons having being processed through the direct provision system that were subsequently naturalised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37888/19]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by the International Protection Office (IPO) that, in the period 1 January 2000 to 31 August 2019, a total of  86,533 people made an application for asylum (2000 -2016) or international protection (from 2017 onwards) in the State. A breakdown of the figures for each of the years is set out in the table below.

As the Deputy may be aware, not all applicants for international protection avail of the accommodation services offered by my Department. However, I am advised that over the period concerned it is estimated that some 64,594 people availed of this accommodation.

I am further advised that a total of 7,372 persons with Refugee Status have subsequently become naturalised in the period 2005 to end August 2019. Figures prior to 2005 are not available.

The Immigration Service of my Department have advised that there is no means of interrogating the system to determine whether applicants were, at the time of application, residents within the direct provision system or if they had previously been in accommodation provided by the Department. The Deputy may be aware, in this regard, that two of the five years total residency requirement for naturalisation are waived, for those defined as refugees under the 1956 Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, as amended.

*The figure for the number of International Protection applications in 2019 to end August is provisional.