Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 June 2023
858. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Justice the number of new staff devoted to handling the increasing number seeking international protection; the target processing capacity which is planned over the coming year; if this is causing an increase in the prospective waiting period for a decision to be made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27225/23]
View answerMy Department is taking all necessary steps to manage the international protection process fairly, efficiently and effectively, as part of the broader Government response.
Since last November a number of measures have been implemented to improve efficiencies and throughput, in tandem with reforms to the application, interview and decision-making process. These reforms are having a significant impact on processing times.
On November 8 2022, the International Protection Office (IPO) introduced accelerated procedures for international protection applicants from safe countries of origin. These steps have recently allowed applicants from safe countries of origin to receive a first instance decision in less than 3 months, which is a significant reduction from a norm of 22 to 26 months earlier last year. The median processing time for all cases processed to completion in quarter 1 of 2023 was 10 months, a reduction from 18 months over the course of 2022.
Approximately €19m was allocated in Budget 2023 to the International Protection Office (IPO) and International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) to scale up processing. This will be supported by investment in human resources, infrastructure, technology and process engineering. In particular, there has been a significant increase in staffing of the International Protection Office since 2019 (from 143 to 309 staff) and this will be increased further during 2023, as will the number of panel members to be recruited in both the IPO and IPAT. This expansion in human resources has resulted in a substantial increase in the number of recommendations made.
Overall, my Department is working to minimise the timeframe for receiving a decision on an international protection application, giving status to those who are entitled to international protection to rebuild their lives here, while also ensuring faster decision making in respect of those who are deemed to be not entitled to international protection.
