Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I first want to apologise to the House for my delay this morning. There was an unexpected event that I did not plan for, so I apologise to everyone for the delay that has caused.

I thank Senator Crowe for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee. As the Senator will be aware, the international protection system is currently undergoing a significant modernisation programme to ensure it is agile, robust and fully resourced in order to meet demand. Investments to date have significantly improved processing times, with a doubling of decisions made in 2023 from the year before.

Over the course of 2024, it is the aim of the Minister, Deputy McEntee, to even further increase capacity and processing times. This is all with the aim of ensuring that those who are seeking international protection can have their application assessed as quickly as possible. It is important to note that every person has the right to come here and seek international protection. Once a person's application has been assessed, however, those who are found not to have a legal right to remain in this country will be informed that they must remove themselves from the State. In this scenario, the individual’s case to remain in the State will have been considered in great detail.

In the final months of 2023, a total of 274 deportation orders were signed for persons who had unsuccessful applications for international protection. Some 26 people who were refused international protection were deported. Enforced deportations are used as a matter of last resort, where the person concerned has not removed themselves or engaged with the Department's voluntary return programme. It is the case that many individuals who were subject to deportation orders have left the State without notifying the relevant authorities. The Garda National Immigration Bureau, GNIB, has reviewed a large sample of the cases that were subject to deportation orders. Their inquiries suggest that a very significant number of these individuals have left the State.

The Department of Justice is also looking at new processes to further strengthen the system and ensure those who have not been successful in their applications for international protection are assisted to leave the State where required. It is the intention of the Minister, Deputy McEntee, that these new processes will become available to the State as soon as possible.