Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 392 and 393 together.

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.

The number of international protection applications last year was 13,650, a significant increase on recent years. It represents a 186% increase on the number received in 2019, the most recent year in which application numbers were not impacted by Covid-19.

In July this year, I published a report on the international protection modernisation programme for 2023 and 2024. This programme is implementing measures to improve efficiencies and throughput as well as improving the application, interview and decision-making process for applicants. This will give 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 do not meet the criteria.

Already these reforms are having a significant impact with the median processing time for first-instance decisions reducing from 18 months in 2022 down to 15 months in 2023. The median processing times for appeals is also down from 15 months at the beginning of 2022 to five months in 2023.

As part of this modernisation programme, I also signed a regulation in November 2022 to introduce an accelerated procedure for international protection applicants from designated safe countries of origin. These applicants now typically receive a first instance decision in less than three months, which is a significant reduction from a norm of 22 to 26 months early last year.

Reforms to the international protection process will continue in 2024. Approximately €34m was allocated in budget 2024 to the International Protection Office (IPO) and the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) to continue to scale up processing.

Please see below for data in relation to international protection applications made to the IPO since February 2020.

Year Received	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Total
2020*		246	177	30	16	41	107	118	173	128	64	160	1260
2021	138	91	138	113	132	115	156	262	332	329	387	455	2648
2022	391	750	1032	1172	1543	1605	1266	1131	1060	1189	1313	1198	13650
2023**	1305	831	858	633	941	901	1029	1158	1249	1481	1464	0	11850

*February 2020 onwards

** To November 30

Please note, figures are correct at time of issue, however, all statistics may be subject to data cleansing.

Please see below for data in relation to first instance decisions made by the IPO since February 2020.

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Grand Total
2020*		321	218	3	32	65	283	281	231	182	181	141	1938
2021	142	160	193	169	198	137	156	149	187	387	331	260	2469
2022	388	485	351	468	417	547	492	343	460	365	360	314	4990
2023**	519	604	786	627	737	719	812	792	826	851	1069		8342

*February 2020 onwards

** up to November 30, 2023

Please note, figures are correct at time of issue, however, all statistics may be subject to data cleansing.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 394 and 395 together.

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.

Both the International Protection Office (IPO) and the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) are fully independent in determining whether or not to grant international protection applications. Each application is examined individually on its own merits, in line with national and international asylum law.

The number of international protection applications last year was 13,650, a significant increase on recent years. It represents a 186% increase on the number received in 2019, the most recent year in which application numbers were not impacted by Covid-19.

In July this year, I published a report on the international protection modernisation programme for 2023 and 2024. This programme is implementing measures to improve efficiencies and throughput as well as improving the application, interview and decision-making process for applicants. This will give 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 do not meet the criteria.

Already these reforms are having a significant impact with the median processing time for first-instance decisions reducing from 18 months in 2022 down to 15 months in 2023. The median processing times for appeals is also down from 15 months at the beginning of 2022 to five months in 2023.

As part of this modernisation programme, I also signed a regulation in November 2022 to introduce an accelerated procedure for international protection applicants from designated safe countries of origin. These applicants now typically receive a first instance decision in less than three months, which is a significant reduction from a norm of 22 to 26 months early last year.

Reforms to the international protection process will continue in 2024. Approximately €34m was allocated in budget 2024 to the International Protection Office (IPO) and the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) to continue to scale up processing.

The International Protection Appeals Tribunal's (IPAT) operational capacity is also currently being significantly expanded to meet their increased caseload. Additional resources are being deployed through increasing the number of Tribunal members as well as further recruitment of administrative staff.

The average processing times from appeal lodged in the International Protection Appeals Tribunal to decision issued at the end of October 2023 was 7.2 months down from 13.5 months at the end of November 2022.

The tables attached detail appeals accepted and processed at the IPAT every month since February 2020 to 24 November 2023.

Please note, there is no correlation between applications received in a particular year/month and first instance decisions issued in the corresponding time period.

Appeals Accepted by the International Protection Appeals Tribunal
	Year Accepted
Month Appeal Accepted	2020	2021	2022	2023
Jan	192	54	25	108
Feb	186	76	64	259
Mar	148	103	79	407
Apr	9	62	41	316
May	4	66	87	341
Jun	7	68	110	340
Jul	68	59	139	429
Aug	169	39	175	587
Sep	203	43	147	496
Oct	139	74	128	448
Nov	79	63	101	316
Dec	51	49	79
Grand Total	1255	756	1175	4047

Decisions Issued by the International Protection Appeals Tribunal
	Year Decision Issued
Month Decision Issued	2020	2021	2022	2023
Jan	166	44	77	125
Feb	175	37	116	143
Mar	103	100	127	158
Apr	0	39	118	120
May	24	61	109	120
Jun	163	91	101	97
Jul	158	83	146	140
Aug	42	92	57	115
Sep	54	100	83	135
Oct	68	120	118	126
Nov	79	154	150	146
Dec	51	131	98
Grand Total	1083	1052	1300	1425