Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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1102. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the average application for asylum processing time in Ireland; the longest application processing time; and the number of persons who are currently having their applications for asylum processed. [1187/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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My Department's overall objective is to have decisions made on applications from people seeking international protection as quickly as possible. This ensures that those who are found to be in need of protection in Ireland can receive it quickly and begin rebuilding their lives here with a sense of safety and security.

As the Deputy will be aware, during 2022 the number of people claiming international protection increased significantly, with 13,651 applications made with the IPO. This is a 186% increase on the same period in 2019, the last year in which application numbers were not impacted by COVID-19.

Since the introduction of new efficiency measures during 2022 the IPO have been able to increase the number of first instance recommendations and permission to remain decisions being made by the IPO by 44%, when compared with the same period pre-Covid in 2019.

Notwithstanding the very large increase in the number of applications during 2022, the median processing time for all international protection cases (which includes decisions on permission to remain) and processed to completion by the IPO in Quarter 4 of 2022 was 10 months for all cases. The median processing time for cases processed to completion for all of 2022 was 18 months.

The longest application processing time for 2022 was 170 months, i.e. first instance determination issued in 2022, but 170 months after initial application. It should be noted that unusually long processing times for individual applications such as this are often attributable to circumstances outside of the control of the IPO. The reasons for such extended delays in processing can include an applicant who may have an ongoing Judicial Review, certain applicants may be uncontactable or missing including children with separate applications where a parent has already received a decision, and some applicants may not be co-operating with the application process itself.

92% of cases decided in 2022 were processed in 3 years or less and 62% of cases decided in 2022 were processed in 2 years or less

I can inform the Deputy that the number of applications pending at the International Protection Office at the end of December 2022 is 14,103. There were a total of 839 appeals pending with the IPAT (International Protection Appeals Tribunal) as at 31st December 2022.