Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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624. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if consideration has been given to adding Vietnam to the list of safe countries of origin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57426/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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Under section 72 of the International Protection Act, the Minister for Justice may make an order designating a country as a safe country of origin. I keep the list of safe countries under review.

A country may only be designated as a safe country of origin where satisfied it can be shown that there:

* is generally and consistently no persecution;

* no torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; and

* no threat by reason of indiscriminate violence in situations of international or internal armed conflict.

Ireland currently has fifteen countries designated as safe countries of origin: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Georgia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Serbia, South Africa, Botswana, Algeria, Brazil, Egypt, India, Malawi and Morocco.

The EU Migration and Asylum Pact is a new EU framework to manage migration and asylum for the long-term. The overall objective of the Pact is to provide a fair, sustainable and efficient asylum procedure. This will be done through convergence in asylum practices across the EU.

The Asylum Procedure Regulation (Regulation 2024/1348) makes provision for the designation of safe countries of origin at European Union level. Common designation of safe countries of origin at Union level should ensure that the safe country of origin concept is applied by all Member States in a uniform manner in relation to applicants whose countries of origin are designated as safe at Union level. The Proposal does not propose to amend Article 64 of the Asylum Procedure Regulation. Therefore, the right of Member States to designate additional countries outside the common list will continue.

The list of safe countries is kept under review.