Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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546. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to provide an update on the current backlog of asylum applications in Ireland; the average processing time; and the steps being taken to expedite decisions while preserving the integrity of the system. [35230/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I can assure the Deputy that it is a priority to have decisions made on all international protection applications as soon as possible. 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.

There are currently 33,853 pending International Protection applications at various points of the International Protection process.

Budget 2025 provided a €25m package for end-to-end investment in the immigration system including Service Delivery, International Protection Office, International Protection Appeals Tribunal and the Legal Aid Board.

There has been significant investment across the end-to-end international protection process in the last number of years, with additional staffing as well as increased financial and technical resources being made available to Immigration Service Delivery, International Protection Office, International Protection Appeals Tribunal and the Legal Aid Board. There has also been investment in ICT capital expenditure and process improvements.

This is supporting reaching key targets, including the IPO making 25,000 decisions in 2025 compared to over 14,000 cases in 2024. 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.

All aspects of the international protection modernisation programme will continue to be kept under review and improved on a continuous ongoing basis.

The median processing time for first-instance decisions in 2025 is 14 months and for those under accelerated procedure it is four months. The median processing time for IPAT appeals is 13 months.

Ireland has opted in to the EU Asylum and Migration Pact which is due to enter operation in June 2026. The Pact will provide a fair, sustainable and efficient asylum procedure. This will be achieved through convergence in asylum practices across the EU.

The Pact introduces mandatory processing times for International Protection applications. Ireland, along with other Member States, will be required to process applications in three months for an accelerated decision. This will apply to, amongst others, people who have misled authorities, such as by destroying identity documents.