Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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1319. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she has considered the designation status of Georgia as safe for the purposes of international protection considering recent events (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39063/21]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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Georgia is designated a safe country of origin under the International Protection Act 2015 (Safe Country of Origin) Order 2018. 

Under Section 72 of the International Protection Act 2015, a country may only be designated as a safe country of origin where satisfied that, on the basis of the legal situation, the application of the law within a democratic system and the general political circumstances, it can be shown that there is generally and consistently no persecution, no torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and no threat by reason of indiscriminate violence in situations of international or internal armed conflict.

In making the assessment, it must be taken into account, among other things, the extent to which protection is provided against persecution or mistreatment by:

- The relevant laws and regulations of the country and the manner in which they are applied.

- The observance of the rights and freedoms laid down in specified European and International Conventions.

- Respect for the principle of non-refoulement in accordance with the Geneva Convention.

- Provision for a system of effective remedies against violation of those rights and freedoms.

The assessment must be based on a range of sources of information, including from other EU Member States, the European Asylum Support Office, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the Council of Europe and other international organisations as appropriate. 

My Department draws from the relevant published reports of a range of bodies in this regard, which provide information on the state of play in the country under review. If an applicant for international protection is from a country designated as a safe country of origin, their application will still receive a full consideration on its merits by the International Protection Office of my Department.  They are not deemed to be inadmissible merely by coming from one of these countries.

It is not intended, at this time, to review the designated status of Georgia as a safe country of origin. However, my Department will keep the matter under consideration, as appropriate.

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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1320. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the estimated number of international protection order interviews that would need to be conducted for the current backlog to be cleared. [39086/21]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The International Protection Office (IPO) of my Department has remained open to offer applicants a service, in line with our international obligations to allow those who wish to claim international protection the opportunity to do so. The provision of the facility to allow people claim international protection is considered an essential service at all times, including during the Covid-19 crisis.

The interview schedule for the IPO has, however, been severely disrupted during this time. As of 30 June 2021, approximately 4,430 applicants were awaiting interview. 

With effect from 10 May 2021, interviews re-commenced in limited numbers by video conference in line with health and safety guidance, with the applicant in one room linked by video conference to an interviewer in another room of the same building.  Interviews by video link from Cork have also resumed. Over 140 video conference interviews have taken place since 10 May.

My Department is committed to implementing the key recommendations in the Expert Advisory Group Report to reduce processing times of both first instance decisions and appeals to 6 months respectively, as outlined in the White Paper to End Direct Provision and Establish a New International Protection Support Service.

A Programme Board has been established in my Department to oversee the implementation of the relevant recommendations and is supported by an Implementation Working Group. My Department will also be represented on a Programme Board being established by my colleague, Minister O'Gorman, which will set performance indicators for the new model and monitor progress against those indicators. 

The White Paper proposes that the new system should be phased in and operational by 2024 and that the intervening period should provide an opportunity to progress improvements in the overall processing times for international protection.

Work is under way in my Department towards identifying mechanisms which will assist with this. For example, additional ICT resources have been secured for this year, and detailed practical work, including the end-to-end review of relevant international protection processes by a multi-disciplinary team from within my Department, has now been completed.

My Department's main focus now is to get its processing system functioning as effectively and efficiently as possible, while adhering to all measures in place to combat the spread of COVID-19.