Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

573. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the average time taken to process all asylum applications lodged and decided on from 2016 to date. [8444/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

My Department is taking all necessary steps to manage the international protection process fairly, efficiently and effectively, as part of the broader Government response, while ensuring the integrity of Ireland's rules-based immigration system is maintained.

Overall, my Department is working to minimise the timeframe for receiving a decision on an international protection application, giving status to those who are entitled to international protection to rebuild their lives here, while also ensuring faster decision making in respect of those who are deemed to be not entitled to international protection.

The Government has also committed additional funding of nearly €18m in 2023 that will also go towards increasing efficiency in processing applications, including by increasing staff numbers at the International Protection Office. Further reforms are being examined with a view to speeding up the processing of applications.

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) processed to completion by the IPO in Quarter 4 of 2022 was 10 months. The median processing time for cases processed to completion for all of 2022 was 18 months.

The tables below detail the Median Processing Times for 2017-2022 (pre-2017 data is not available) and also a separate breakdown of the quarterly processing times for 2022. As the data in the table demonstrates, median processing times have improved significantly throughout 2022.

Median figures are collated rather than an average, as cases with unusually long or short processing times can skew the data. The median figure is more representative of the ‘normal’ processing time.

The median processing times for all appeals determined by the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) in the years 2016 to 2022 can be found in the table below.

Some of the Tribunal’s published figures vary between average and median, where possible the Tribunal have provided median figures.

The median processing times for all of 2022 for all appeals determined was 10.2 months, a 24% decrease compared to the previous year. Median processing times for appeals completed in Quarter 4 2022 stand at 4.1 months. The Tribunal’s resource plan for 2023 provides for additional staff to account for increased international protection appeals this year.