John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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515. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to list all countries which are currently designated as safe countries for the purposes of Irish asylum applications; to list all other countries which are currently under consideration for such a designation at present, in tabular form;; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29362/24]

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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516. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the reason Brazil, which has been considered a stable liberal democracy for decades, was not deemed to be a safe country for the purposes of the Irish asylum process until recently; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29363/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 515 and 516 together.

Under the International Protection Act the Minister for Justice may make an order designating a country as a safe country of origin. A country may only be designated as a safe country of origin where satisfied 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.

A country that has been designated under section 72 as a safe country of origin shall, for the purposes of the assessment of an application for international protection, be considered to be a safe country of origin in relation to a particular applicant only where— (a) the country is the country of origin of the applicant, and (b) the applicant has not submitted any serious grounds for considering the country not to be a safe country of origin in his or her particular circumstances and in terms of his or her eligibility for international protection.

There are now fifteen countries designated as safe countries of origin: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Georgia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Serbia, South Africa, Botswana and Algeria. Brazil, Egypt, India, Malawi and Morocco have been added to the list on the 3^rd July 2024.

I can inform the Deputy that in making the assessment to designate a country as safe, it is considered, 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 is based on a range of sources of information, including from other EU Member States, the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the Council of Europe and other international organisations as appropriate. My Department also seeks submissions from? the Department of Foreign Affairs, UNHCR, the Irish Refugee Council and other NGOS in relation to the designation of a country as being safe.

I keep the list of safe countries under review having regard to the profile of applications being received and this changes over time.