Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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260. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of people who are in the international protection application process who were directly contacted by email in relation to voluntary return further to the policy announcement made on 29 September 2025 and who are an unaccompanied minor, received a vulnerability assessment, and the number of people from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia and Afghanistan who have received such communication. [53969/25]

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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264. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of people who are in the international protection application process who were directly contacted by email in relation to voluntary return further to the policy announcement made on 29 September 2025. [53984/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 260 and 264 together.

It is a central priority for me that Ireland’s immigration system is robust and rules based. Returning people who do not have permission to remain in Ireland is undertaken through voluntary returns and deportation. Both types of returns are essential for the system to work effectively and to ensure that there is confidence in the application of our legislation in this area.

It is the preferred option to return people voluntarily, and my Department has a voluntary return programme to assist people to return prior to the issuance of a deportation order. It is important to note that a person can only avail of voluntary return before a deportation order is issued. In 2024, 934 people left Ireland by way of voluntary return. This year 1,212 people have left up to 3 October 2025, which is an increase of 106% compared to the same period in 2024.

A person who is intending to avail of voluntary return can arrange their return independently or they can be assisted with travel costs, financial aid and administrative support by my Department or through my Department’s partner, the UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM). The option of voluntary return is not offered to those convicted of serious criminality.

The voluntary return service comprises of pre-departure counselling, organising travel arrangements and the payment of a reintegration grant. My Department’s programme provides assistance to people who wish to leave and are not deemed to be in a vulnerable situation. In general terms, the IOM considers more vulnerable cases.

Part of the voluntary return process is the offer of reintegration assistance – this is a grant that helps people get back on their feet when they return home.

This grant was set at €1,200 per person and €2,000 per family unit.

Last week, I announced that for a limited time, people who were in the International Protection process before 28 September 2025, will be offered an increased allowance if they leave at an earlier stage in the process. This aims to reduce pressure on the system from the high number of applications received in recent years.

This means that if a person decides to opt for voluntary return either before a first instance decision is made, or without submitting an appeal, their assistance will be increased to €2,500 per person to a maximum of €10,000 per family unit.

If a person is in the appeals process, it is €1,500 per person and €6,000 per family unit.

If a person has received a final decision on their application the amount remains at the previous rate of €1200 or a slightly higher amount for a family of €3,000.

The increased assistance level will be offered to everyone in the International Protection process before 28 September 2025 and people are not being excluded on grounds of nationality. Email communications are issued to adults and not to children.

It is important to note that people can return to a country where they have legal residency, and this is not limited to their country of nationality. There are safeguards in place for vulnerable people and requests for return can be refused if it would be unsafe for the person to return. My Department assesses each application on their eligibility for the programme.

If an unaccompanied minor wished to return under the programme their request to leave Ireland would be carefully managed to ensure their safety and well-being. Applications on behalf of unaccompanied minors are made by the appropriate HSE and TUSLA teams and will always be referred onwards to the IOM for assistance. I can assure the Deputy such a return requires the completion of a vulnerability assessment and a best interest determination by their Social Work Team and TUSLA before it could be approved. Additionally, in these circumstances the IOM liaise with their in-country Protection Teams and the unaccompanied minor’s family to support the return. Only once these steps are undertaken and with the minor’s full agreement would a voluntary return be facilitated. While the higher levels of reintegration assistance will be made available to unaccompanied minor if they applied for international protection before 28 September 2025, specific outreach with this group is not being undertaken.

As of 03 October 2025, there are 33,961 applications pending at different stages of the international protection process.

The table below details the number of pending applications at all stages of the International Protection process from nationals recorded as being from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia and Afghanistan as of 03 October 2025.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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261. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when the policy of not offering accommodation to international protection applications will cease. [53981/25]

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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262. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of international protection applicants who have not been offered accommodation on arrival in each month, to date in 2025. [53982/25]

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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263. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide details of the rough sleeper verification process by which an international protection applicant not offered accommodation would receive an offer of accommodation. [53983/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 261, 262 and 263 together.

Ireland is currently accommodating almost 33,000 people seeking international protection in 319 International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centres around the country.

Due to severe shortages of accommodation over recent years, from December 2023, the State was unable to offer accommodation to all people seeking international protection.

My Department manages a limited supply of accommodation, prioritising people with families or who have specific health needs or other vulnerabilities. This means that single male applicants are most affected by accommodation pressures.

From January to August 2025, the following numbers of single male applicants were not offered accommodation on arrival. Most of these applicants whose case remains active have subsequently been made an offer of accommodation, as outlined below.

While most unaccommodated people are not rough-sleeping, IPAS has arrangements in place with a range of NGO partners to provide drop-in day services for unaccommodated people who are. This means people can access facilities including hot showers, meals and laundry services.

IPAS can also makes offers of accommodation to any applicant who is rough sleeping, identified through outreach that is organised 7 days a week through a homeless NGO partner organisation.

While the demand for IPAS accommodation remains high, the reduced rate of new applications has meant that since March 2025, IPAS has been able to review the cases of people who were awaiting an offer of accommodation and make offers to those who have been waiting longest.

As part of the review process, we are also identifying people who no longer require accommodation. They are removed from the list of people waiting for an offer, speeding up the process for people on the list who still need accommodation.

This review has reduced the number of unaccommodated people from over 3,500 in March 2025, to 613 in October 2025.

This means that eligible people who applied for international protection during 2023 and 2024 and the earlier part of 2025 have now all received an offer of accommodation.

Depending on availability of spaces and numbers of new applicants, we will continue to make offers of accommodation to more people over the coming weeks and months.

Updated information on unaccommodated international protection applicants is published online at Gov.ie: www.gov.ie/en/publication/ec5f2-statistics-on-international-protection-applicants-not-offered-accommodation/?referrer=.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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265. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when the international protection child payment will be introduced. [53985/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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Implementing a child payment for children in the international protection process remains under consideration following the international protection reception function’s transition to the Department of Justice. Home Affairs, and Migration in May of this year.

This will be considered in the context of the development of a new International Protection Act, priorities under the new Programme for Government and the implementation of the new EU Pact on Migration.

The Migration Pact is due to come in to effect in June 2026 and provides for harmonisation of reception conditions across EU member states.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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266. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of return orders issued under section 51A of the International Protection Act 2015 (as amended) in total and individually to the United Kingdom. [53986/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I can advise the Deputy that Section 51A of the International Protection Act 2015 provides for the making of a return order where an international protection application has been determined as inadmissible. An international protection application may be determined as inadmissible where certain conditions are met in accordance with section 21 of the same Act.

This situation will typically arise where the relevant applicant holds an international protection status in another EU Member State, where a country, other than an EU Member State, is a first country of asylum for the person, or where the person arrived from a State that is a safe third country, the UK has been designated as a safe third country for the purpose of the Act of 2015.

I can also advise that before such an order can be made, I, as Minister, must be satisfied that the making of the order would not result in a breach of the prohibition of refoulement, as enshrined in section 50A of that Act.

The Deputy should note that sections 50A and 51A are relatively new provisions on the Irish legislative landscape, having only come into effect on the first working day of 2021. During this time, there was a moratorium on returns and deportations in place during the Covid 19 pandemic. As a result, it was not until the second half of 2022 that the first return order was made under section 51A of the 2015 Act.

Furthermore, in the period between March 2024 and March 2025, the ability to issue return orders in circumstances where a person arrived from a safe third country was affected by a High Court judgment [2024] IEHC 183 which identified shortcomings in the procedures set out in the Act of 2015. This has since been remedied by amendments brought forward in the Courts, Civil Law, Criminal Law and Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024, and the subsequent re-designation of the UK as a safe third country in March 2025.

Arrangements for re-operationalising an agreement for reciprocal returns of international protection applicants between Ireland and the UK, on foot of the re-designation of the UK as a safe third country, are being put in place in consultation with the UK.

The table below details return orders issued to the UK and the total return orders issued from 2022 to 2025.