Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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699. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of international protection applicants in the State currently and in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25810/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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It is a central priority for myself, my Department and this Government that our immigration laws are robust and enforced.

The number of International Protection applications have been rising over the past number of years, reaching 18,500 in 2024. This year, we are beginning to see application numbers noticeably reduce. There have been 43% less applications in the first four months of 2025 compared to the first four months of 2024.

We know that patterns in international protection applications vary over time and that is why it is important that the Government’s response adapts accordingly.

It is my belief that implementing a firmer and more efficient migration system is a key element in reducing the numbers coming to Ireland to seek international protection.

Accelerated processing was introduced in November 2022 and it now applies to those from designated safe countries of origin, applicants who have received protection elsewhere in Europe and those from a country with a particularly high number of applications. Applications from countries subject to the accelerated procedure have reduced significantly since their introduction.

It is my intention to continue to ramp up investment in the end-to-end international protection process to speed up decision making. This will support reaching key targets, including making 25,000 decisions in the IPO in 2025 and to increase the number of appeals at the IPAT completed over the course of 2025.

The table below details the number of International Protection applications made over the last five years, many of whom will have received a decision on their application.

- *To COB May 15 2025.

- Data correct at time of issue and may be subject to data cleansing.

There are currently 33,578 pending International Protection applications at various points of the International Protection process.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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700. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of international protection applicants housed in IPAS accommodation currently and in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25811/25]

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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701. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of international protection applicants in the State but not housed in IPAS accommodation currently and in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25812/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 700 and 701 together.

The State is currently accommodating almost 33,000 people who have applied for international protection in Ireland, over 9,000 of whom are children with their families.

Ireland and other EU Member States have responded to a very sharp and sustained increase in the number of people applying for international protection from early 2022 to the end of 2024.

To illustrate this, at the beginning of 2022, Ireland's international protection accommodation service sheltered about 7,000 people. By the end of 2024, this had expanded by almost 400% to accommodate 32,000 eligible people.

The International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) releases weekly statistics in relation to international protection (IP) applicants. This includes a per county breakdown of where IP applicants are residing and a wide range of other details.

These statistics are located on the Gov.ie website:

www.gov.ie/en/international-protection-accommodation-services-ipas/publications/facts-and-figures/

The information requested by the Deputy in relation to the number of IP applicants housed in IPAS accommodation currently, and over the last five years, is set out in the table below.

The figures are inclusive of some people in each year who had completed the application process and been granted status that allows them to remain in Ireland, and are due to transition to mainstream housing services.

The state has not been in a position to offer IPAS accommodation to every IP applicant since 2024. As of 16 May 2025 there are 2,987 single adult males awaiting an offer of accommodation.

In relation to the location of applicants for international protection, the Deputy will be aware that IP applicants are not under any obligation to remain in IPAS accommodation. Applicants are obliged to notify the International Protection Office (IPO) of their current address. Failure to do so is an offence under the International Protection Act 2015 and these applicants can also be dealt with through the non-cooperation procedure.

The State is taking a range of steps to reform the international protection system overall, reducing processing times, providing applicants with a faster and more efficient decision process and in turn reducing the scale of demand for accommodation in the longer-term. This strategic approach will align with implementation of the Migration Pact across EU Member States, including Ireland, in mid 2026.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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702. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of international protection applications that were unsuccessful in 2025 and in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25813/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I can assure the Deputy that I am fully committed to ensuring that Ireland’s International Protection system is robust and rules based, and that our borders are protected.

There has been a significant increase in investment into the international protection system which, combined with digitisation and process reengineering, has facilitated a major increase in processing capacity.

In 2024 the International Protection Office (IPO) delivered over 14,000 first decisions compared to over 8,500 in 2023, while the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) closed around 3,100 appeals in 2024 compared to over 1,700 in 2023.

I intend to further invest in the immigration system to support 25,000 first-instance decisions made in the IPO this year. The IPAT also aims to increase the number of appeals completed over the course of 2025 with recruitment of Tribunal Members to increase its decision-making capacity currently taking place.

Additionally, accelerated processing was introduced in November 2022, and it now applies to those from designated safe countries of origin, applicants who have received protection elsewhere in Europe and those from a country with a particularly high number of applications. Since the introduction of accelerated processing, the number of applicants from these groups has dropped significantly.

The number of International Protection applications had been rising over the past number of years, reaching 18,500 in 2024. This year, we are beginning to see application numbers noticeably reduce. There have been 42% less applications in the first three months of 2025 compared to the first three months of 2024.

The table below details the negative first instance decisions issued by the International Protection Office in the years requested: