The UN Refugee Agency has called on the Government to introduce a new procedure recognising the rights of stateless persons in Ireland.
Stateless people - of whom the UNHCR has said there are millions - do not have the nationality of any country.
While some people are born stateless, others become stateless for a variety of reasons including discrimination or deprivation of nationality by state authorities, gaps in nationality laws, conflicts between the laws of different states or the emergence of new states and changes in borders.
As a result, stateless people often have difficulty accessing basic rights, such as individual documentation, education, healthcare, employment and freedom of movement.
A ten-year campaign by the UNHCR to end statelessness concludes next year.
While the number of stateless people in Ireland is thought to be small, the exact number is unknown because there is no "systematic recording" of statelessness data in Ireland.
A report published this morning - 'Mapping Statelessness in Ireland' - has recommended that Ireland should take steps to establish and implement a statelessness determination procedure to prioritise their identification and protection.
It said that the establishment of such a procedure would ensure fairness, transparency and efficiency in how they are dealt with and would improve consistency within the immigration and international protection system in Ireland.
Read more: 'I haven't seen my mum in 16 years' - stateless in Ireland
'They are invisible in practice'
Ireland acceded to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons in 1962 and to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness in January 1973.
Despite the country being a state party to both conventions, the issue has received "little attention at the national level" according to the Mapping Statelessness in Ireland report.
"There is no definition of stateless persons within Irish law nor is there a statelessness determination procedure to identify stateless persons in Ireland.
"This lack of a formal system of identification and determination for stateless persons means they are invisible in practice and unable to effectively assert their rights under the 1954 Convention," it said.
The report also said Ireland is not meeting its full obligations particularly for stateless persons who do not seek international protection and that their invisibility is compounded by the lack of qualitative and quantitative data on stateless persons.
The UNHCR examined the treatment of stateless persons in the international protection system and noted that although they may not be officially registered as stateless persons at the outset, there is evidence of positive engagement by the International Protection Office (IPO) and International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) in examining protection risks and making clear findings on statelessness during the analysis of their claims.
However, it has sought an assurance that stateless people are identified as such at the registration stage of their asylum applications.
When it happens at a later stage it can have repercussions for beyond the protection procedure - including when it comes to renewal of permission to reside in Ireland or in the context of deportation proceedings.
In addition, as shown by the analysis of IPO reports and IPAT decisions, the UNHCR found that a lack of identification of stateless persons in the context of the international protection procedure affected the reliability of the Government's statistics on stateless persons in Ireland.
'No obligation on Irish authorities' to issue documents
The 1954 Convention contains administrative provisions regarding the issuance of travel documents and identity papers as well as the requirement for states to facilitate the naturalisation of stateless persons.
Under the Convention there is a clear obligation on the Irish Government to issue stateless persons with stateless travel documents however they can't access them in practice.
It is possible in some instances to apply for discretionary travel documents under administrative procedures, however there is no obligation on Irish authorities to issue them.
The State’s obligation under international law to provide travel documents to stateless persons is acknowledged by the Department of Justice on the relevant website where it states: "You may apply for a travel document if you have been declared stateless in accordance with the New York Convention of 1954"
The UNHCR points out that without a formal statelessness determination procedure in Ireland, "it is difficult to see how an individual could establish this and no data is collected on applications made by stateless persons".
Where a person self-declares as stateless, they need to provide a detailed explanation of their situation, supported by a personal immigration history and country of origin information in relation to obtaining passports from their country of former habitual residence.
The research published today demonstrates that the establishment of a dedicated statelessness procedure would allow Ireland to fully meet its obligations under the UN Conventions on Statelessness according to the UNHCR.
UNHCR Head of Office Enda O'Neill has asked people to imagine being unable to access a bank account because you cannot provide a passport, or being denied access to education in the country you grew up in.
"Discrimination against stateless people often starts when they are born. By introducing a stateless determination procedure, Ireland has the power to ensure that stateless people here are given recognition, are treated fairly and ultimately have the chance to be fully included in Irish society."
The Department of Justice has welcomed the Mapping Statelessness in Ireland report and has said it is considering "how best to address the issues raised".
Those considerations will be with a view to improving the interactions that the department has with stateless persons in the immigration system.
In a statement it said that research and consultation is continuing regarding the introduction of a Statelessness Determination Procedure and on how best to determine statelessness in the Irish context.
"Statelessness considerations can overlap and intersect with multiple elements of the immigration and international protection system which is governed by an array of international, EU and domestic law. The department is being careful to ensure that any new processes accounting for statelessness won't have any unintended consequences for other parts of the system", it said.
A spokesperson said the department is examining how to improve the quality of the data on stateless persons.
The department has also noted that the UNHCR is "critical of lengthy wait times faced by stateless applicants" in their interactions with Immigration Service Delivery.
"The department would like to highlight the ongoing Modernisation Programme under way in Immigration Service Delivery. This programme aims to result in improved outcomes and processing times for all applicants in the future", it said.
