Pa Daly
Question:1105. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Justice the breakdown of the average wait times to process international protection applications in each of the years 2015 to 2022. [1200/23]
View answerWednesday, 18 January 2023
Questions (1105, 1113, 1114)
Pa Daly
Question:1113. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Justice the number of applicants for international protection that were dealt with under the single application procedure in 2022. [1386/23]
View answerPa Daly
Question:1114. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Justice if he will provide a breakdown of the number of applicants for international protection in each of the years 2012 to 2022, cross-tabulated with applicants' final decision status, in tabular form. [1395/23]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1105, 1113 and 1114 together.
The statistics sought by the Deputy are set out in the document attached to this response.
My Department's overall objective is to have decisions made on applications from people seeking international protection as quickly as possible. This ensures that those who are found to be in need of protection in Ireland can receive it quickly and begin rebuilding their lives here with a sense of safety and security.
During 2022, the number of people claiming international protection increased significantly, with 13,651 applications made with the International Protection Office (IPO). This is a 186% increase on the same period in 2019, the last year in which application numbers were not impacted by COVID-19. The number of applications for previous years 2012 to 2021 can be found in the tables attached.
It is not possible to provide the Deputy with information or data which cross tabulates applications with final decisions, as statistics are not maintained in this manner by my Department. However, in order to be helpful to the Deputy, I have included a table which sets out decisions made by the Department’s Ministerial Decisions Unit (based on applicant final decision only) for the same reference period.
Since the introduction of new efficiency measures in the IPO during 2022 the number of first instance recommendations and permission to remain decisions have increased by 44 % when compared with the same period pre-Covid in 2019. The total number of first instance recommendations made by the IPO under the single application procedure for 2022 was 4,899, compared with 3,410 for all of 2019.
Notwithstanding the very large increase in the number of applications during 2022, the median processing time for all international protection cases (which includes decisions on permission to remain) and processed to completion by the IPO in Quarter 4 of 2022 was 10 months, and 9 months for prioritised cases.
My Department is committed to reducing processing times for international protection applicants and is taking steps to ensure that applications are dealt with as quickly as possible.