There has been a big increase in the number of International Protection applicants entering the labour force according to a new study from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The analysis looked at the demographics, economic activity, and social welfare activity of beneficiaries of the Daily Expense Allowance (DEA).
This is a social welfare benefit only available to International Protection applicants who live in, or are waiting to move into, accommodation provided by the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS).
According to the CSO, 77% of all new DEA beneficiaries from 2022 showed employment activity in 2024.
International Protection applicants are allowed to work if they have a Labour Market Access permit, which can only be granted once they have been in Ireland for at least six months.
Previously this was nine months until it was reduced in 2021.
“This resulting time lag was clearly evident in the data we explored, as the percentage of applicants who entered the labour market increased dramatically in the years after their first year of DEA commencement,” the CSO said.
In terms of a gender breakdown, for all new DEA beneficiaries from 2022, 83% of men and 65% of women had employment activity.
The 25-44 age group had the highest employment activity.
The analysis looked at beneficiaries of the DEA for the years 2016 to 2024.
In 2022, the number of new beneficiaries of the DEA exceeded 10,000 for the first time, at 11,750 people.
This number dropped to 10,252 people in 2023, before increasing again to 17,250 people in 2024.
The percentage share of women benefiting from the DEA was lower than men in every year that was looked at.
In 2024, almost half of all beneficiaries were aged between 25 and 44 years.
Nigeria, Jordan, Somalia, and Pakistan had more than 1,000 new people benefiting from the DEA in 2024.
Other countries that had over 1,000 people in previous years were Algeria in both 2022 and 2023, and Georgia in 2022.
