Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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48. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons who have applied for asylum in the State in each of the past ten years and to date in 2025. [53288/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I can assure the Deputy that I will take all necessary steps to manage the international protection process efficiently and effectively.

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 38% fewer applications to quarter three 2025 compared to the same period of 2024 (9,589 compared to 15,583).

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.

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

In 2024 there was a 65% increase in the total number of first decisions processed with over 14,000 in 2024 from over 8,500 in 2023.

In 2025, to the end of Q3, there has been a 51% increase in the total number of first decisions when compared to the same period in 2024.

The table below shows a yearly breakdown of IP applications made from 2015 to date in 2025.

Please note, figures are correct at time of issue, however, all statistics may be subject to data cleansing.