Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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21. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality in the context of the enhanced voluntary return scheme payments, if he will provide a line by line breakdown of the average costs to the State that are saved when an applicant withdraws at this stage after the first decision; and the number of additional applicants that would need to avail of the scheme for it to be cost neutral or cost saving compared with an applicant proceeding to conclusion. [54113/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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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.

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.

Calculating the full actual cost of claim processing for individual cases is complex given the number of variables such as time spent in each stage of the process, type of accommodation, others supported provided etc. Based on 2024 processing times, it took on average approximately 29 months to reach a second-instance decision in these cases. Annual accommodation costs per individual are around €30,000 meaning that cost for accommodation alone exceeded €70,000 while their case was being processed. This is without taking into account the further substantial costs associated with social protection payments, health care, education and the application processing costs.

This initiative is designed to reduce costs to the State and alleviate pressure on the International Protection system. I will be carefully monitoring its operation to ensure it is working effectively and as intended.