Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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809. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide an update on processing times for IP applicants; the timeline on proposed further changes including legislative changes; the target processing and appeal time being aimed for; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47705/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I can assure the Deputy it is my intention to continue the investment in the end-to-end international protection process to speed up decision making.

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.

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

Ireland has opted in to the EU Asylum and Migration Pact which will come into effect 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.

My Department continues to focus on preparing for the Pact in advance of June 2026.

The General Scheme of a new International Protection Bill to give effect to the measures of the EU Migration and Asylum Pact was approved by Government on 29 April 2025. The General Scheme has been published and referred to the Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration for pre-legislative scrutiny. The drafting of the Bill is underway. It is expected that the Bill will be published by the end of the year. Enactment of the Bill and commencement of the Act is required by 11 June 2026.

The Bill will provide for the timeframes for the different procedures under which an international protection application can be examined, in accordance with the 2024 Asylum Procedure Regulation and the 2024 Asylum and Migration Management Regulation (AMMR).

These timeframes will be 6 months for standard procedures, 3 months for the accelerated procedure, 2 months for the admissibility procedure, and in procedures for determining the Member State responsible in accordance with the AMMR, 6 months.

The Asylum Border Procedure will have a 12-week time limit for first instance and appeal decisions to be completed for applicants from countries of origin with a recognition rate of 20% or less across the EU, or for those who have no documents, false documents, or are deemed a security risk