Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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1988. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of asylum seekers who do not have leave to remain in Ireland, currently in Ireland, by country of origin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41642/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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It is a priority for my Department to have recommendations made on all international protection applications as soon as possible. This gives 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 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. Further growth in decisions will be delivered in 2025.

If a person receives a final negative decision on their international protection application, they are informed of the option of voluntary return. If a person decides not to avail of a voluntary return, a deportation order is made against them.

The preferred option is to return people voluntarily. This programme offers a reintegration grant to help people resettle in their home countries. People are strongly encouraged to avail of this option and are informed of the voluntary return procedure at each stage of the International Protection process, as well as when they are issued with an intention to deport under the Immigration Act 1999.

So far in 2025, a total of 1,045 people departed from the State under various mechanisms (i.e. enforced deportation, voluntary return etc.) the majority of whom will have been refused international protection. In 2025 three charter flight operations have removed 106 people who were subject to deportation orders from the State and 67 have been removed on commercial airlines. Additionally, 29 people subject to deportation orders are confirmed to have left unescorted.

In 2024, 934 individuals left Ireland using the Voluntary Return Programme, a significant increase compared to the 213 in 2023. Of these, 684 had made applications for International Protection in the State.

I expect these numbers to rise again this year and so far in 2025, 831 persons who had made International Protection applications have availed of Voluntary Return.

As there are no routine exit checks at Irish borders, it is not possible to accurately provide the number of people who are currently in Ireland subject to deportation orders. While over 200 of the people subject to deportation orders are confirmed to have left in 2025, a significantly larger number of individuals who were subject to deportation orders have left the State without notifying the relevant authorities.