Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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My Department takes all necessary steps to manage the international protection process efficiently and effectively, while ensuring the integrity of those processes is maintained at all times.

The International Protection Office (IPO) of my Department is responsible for examining all international protection applications received. The staff of the IPO are independent by law in the exercise of their international protection functions.

In 2022, almost 5,000 first instance decisions were made by the IPO – a higher number than any annual number of applications over the past five years and exceeding the Catherine Day Report target of 3,500. Of those cases, 1,388 were granted refugee status, 70 were granted subsidiary protection, 2,077 were granted permission to remain while 1,366 were refused a grant.

Between 1 January and 1 July 2023, 3996 first instance decisions were made. Of those cases, 983 were granted refugee status, 98 were granted subsidiary protection, 353 were granted permission to remain while 2477 were refused a grant and 85 were deemed inadmissible.

The higher proportion of cases granted permission to remain in 2022 reflects the impact of the International Protection strand of the regularisation arrangements introduced in parallel with the general undocumented scheme.

The International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) is a statutorily independent body and exercises a quasi-judicial function under the International Protection Act 2015.

The Tribunal has provided data sought by the Deputy with regard to the recognition rates for appeals. In 2022 a total of 1,300 decisions were issued by the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) and of those cases 496 were granted and 804 were refused by the Tribunal.

Between 1 January and 1 July 2023, a total of 757 decisions were issued by the Tribunal and of those cases 229 were granted and 528 were refused by the Tribunal.

My Department does not maintain statistics in a manner that would provide a detailed breakdown of recognition rates for recommendations or decisions on appeals according to country of origin.

My Department is committed to reducing processing times for international protection applicants and is taking steps to ensure that applications are dealt with as quickly as possible.

Significant investment in human resources and other modernisation initiatives is underway with a view to reducing processing times for international protection applicants, ensuring that those in need of protection receive that status without undue delay, while those that do not qualify are advised of this in good time.

The Deputy may also wish to know that my Department has created a new website to provide a detailed overview of the International Protection process in Ireland which can be accessed at:

www.gov.ie/en/campaigns/304ba-international-protection/

This site also provides detailed statistics and metrics in relation to processing of applications for protection. These statistics will be published on a monthly basis.

www.gov.ie/en/collection/48a28-international-protection-in-numbers/

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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My Department's objective is to ensure that applications are dealt with fairly and efficiently within the framework of Ireland's international obligations.

The International Protection Office has partnered with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), a key UN body in this field, to provide cultural mediators to assist applicants in completing application forms and provide support and information in respect of the protection system in Ireland. All Cultural Mediators employed are subject to an interpreter's code of conduct, both an IPO and separate IOM Code of Conduct.

The role of the cultural mediator is to independently assist and support the applicant in the process, and is complementary to the provision of formal legal advice. Cultural mediators support customers through the application procedure in the language of their choice. The languages they are employed to interpret at the IPO reception are: Persian; Hindu; Urdu; Pashto; Kurdish; Sorani; Farsi; Spanish; Isizulu; Africaans; Ndebele; Setswana; Arabic; Tigrinya; Tigre; Amharic; French; Bangla; Georgian and Somali.

The Cultural Mediators also identify any signs of vulnerability, including unaccompanied minors, victims of domestic or gender-based and/or sexual violence and human trafficking. Presently, there are 12 Cultural Mediators employed at the IPO and all 12 mediators are present in the IPO on a daily basis.

All applicants for International Protection are encouraged to seek legal assistance at any stage of their application, be that at initial application stage, their substantive interview or later in the process. Applicants are also provided with the necessary interpretation supports at each stage of the process. Legal advice and representation, where required, is provided by the independent Legal Aid Board.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I understand that this is a difficult situation for our Afghan community and would like to take this opportunity to assure them that my Department is processing applications under the Afghan Admissions Programme (AAP) as quickly as possible.

To ensure as many people as possible can avail of this important programme my Department have been liaising with representatives of the Afghan Community and with applicants directly to ensure the Afghan Admission Programme team have everything needed to progress applications.

Where applicants are missing important information, such as proof of identity and familial relationships, the Afghan Admission Programme Unit contacted people directly to gather the required documents. This process is now complete. The requested information has begun to be received and applications continue to be assessed in a pragmatic and humanitarian manner.

We issued the first approval under the Programme on 14 November 2022. As of 7 July 2023, 463 beneficiaries have received approvals and 11 negative decisions in respect of 36 beneficiaries have been issued under the terms of Programme. In addition, a further 28 applicants have been informed that their applications in respect of 77 beneficiaries were not eligible under the terms of the Programme. The Department continues to process the remaining applications and will notify all applicants in the coming months.

The Programme has been developed to allow as many families as possible the opportunity to have some family members join them here in Ireland.

It was originally envisaged that up to 500 places would be available under the Programme. However, applicants who have met the deadlines and other criteria for the Programme will continue to be assessed and have determinations issued on their application. Consequently the number of places to be provided under the programme is likely to exceed 500.

I can also advise that if an applicant has received a negative decision in respect of their application to the AAP it is open to them to appeal this decision at no extra cost. The appeal must be submitted on the appeal form within 20 working days of the date of the decision letter. Further details together with a link to the appeal form can be found at the following link: www.irishimmigration.ie/the-afghan-admission-programme-information-page/the-afghan-admission-programme-aap-appeals/