Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 May 2024
430. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice the number of people with a Dublin Regulation positive match on EURODAC in the past 12 months, by month, in tabular form; and the number of Dublin Regulation transfers effected in the corresponding period. [21248/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraRegulation (EU) No 604/2013 (Dublin III Regulations), came into force on 19 July 2013, and lays down the criteria and mechanisms for determining which EU country is responsible for examining an asylum application. The Dublin Regulation is based on the principle that the first Member State to facilitate entry to the EU should be responsible for examining the protection application.
In practice, and in keeping with the experience of all Member States, the Dublin III Regulations have not been effective in Ireland.
The Eurodac database enables the comparison of fingerprints and assists in determining the country responsible for the assessment of an asylum claim presented in one of the Member States. The Eurodac annual report is drawn up pursuant to Article 40(1) of the Eurodac Regulation and provides an overview of statistical data on the use of the system by the Member States. The statistical data for the time period requested has not yet published by EU-Lisa, and is not otherwise available in a verifiable format from national records.
I can, however, advise the Deputy that between April 2023 and April 2024, 246 transfer decisions were taken by the IPO under the Dublin Regulation.
|
Number of Transfer Decisions |
Month/Year Taken |
|
21 |
April 2023 |
|
13 |
May 2023 |
|
18 |
June 2023 |
|
17 |
July 2023 |
|
24 |
August 2023 |
|
12 |
September 2023 |
|
14 |
October 2023 |
|
21 |
November 2023 |
|
16 |
December 2023 |
|
22 |
January 2024 |
|
18 |
February 2024 |
|
21 |
March 2024 |
|
29 |
April 2024 |
|
246 |
TOTAL |
As the Deputy will be aware, it is possible for applicants to appeal transfer decisions, and the vast majority do so. As a consequence many of the above transfer decisions are currently under consideration by IPAT. It is also important to note that after the IPO and IPAT have completed their work, Ireland makes ‘transfer requests’ under the regulation to the Member State in question, which can result in the request being declined. There are other reasons why transfers will not go ahead including legal challenge, material change in the person's personal circumstances, or the person leaving the country without advising the IPO.
These factors all form part of the widely recognised limitations of the current Dublin arrangements and are reflected in the number of effected transfer between April 2023 and April 2024.
|
Number of Dublin III Transfer * |
Year |
|
3 |
2023* |
|
2 |
2024* |
* Between April 2023 and April 2024.
**Figures correct at time of issue and may be subject to data cleansing.
The difficulties associated with the current Dublin arrangements are one of the important considerations for Ireland in opting in the EU Migration Pact
The overall objective of the Pact is to create a fair, sustainable and efficient asylum procedure in ordinary times as well as in times of migratory pressure and crisis situations.
The Asylum and Migration Management Regulation (AMMR) which will replace the Dublin III Regulation, provides, inter alia, for streamlined criteria and reduced timeframes for determining the Member State responsible for determining an asylum application as well as revised rules on transferring responsibility. This will significantly improve the current Dublin system by reducing the administrative burden on the Member States seeking to transfer a person to the Member State responsible for processing the application.
