Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 July 2023
53. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Justice the number of current applications on hand for international protection; the length of time on average it is taking to process applications; the steps being taken to reduce the time of processing; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33964/23]
View answerHow many applications are on hand for international protection? What is the average length of time to process an application? What steps are being taken to reduce the processing time?
I thank the Deputy for raising the important matter of the number of applications on hand for international protection, the average length of time to process applications and the steps being taken to reduce the processing time. My Department is taking all necessary steps to manage the international protection process fairly and efficiently, as part of the broader Government response to this challenging issue.
The number of international protection applications last year was 13,651, a significant increase on recent years. It represents a 186% increase on the number received in 2019, the most recent year in which application numbers were not impacted by Covid-19.
Last week, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, published a report on the international protection modernisation programme for 2023 and 2024. The report set out a suite of reform measures and signals a goal to reach 1,000 decisions per month on international protection applications by early next year. As part of this programme, a number of measures have been implemented to improve efficiencies and throughput, in tandem with reforms to the application, interview and decision-making process. We have already increased the number of applications processed by 97%, from 2,484 in 2021 to 4,899 in 2022. These reforms are having a significant impact. The median processing time for first-instance decisions in quarter 1 of 2023 was ten months, a reduction from 18 months over the course of 2022. The median processing times for appeals in quarter 1 of 2023 was slightly more than five months, down from 15 months at the beginning of 2022.
As part of this programme, an accelerated procedure for international protection applicants from safe countries of origin was introduced.
Applicants from safe countries of origin now receive a first instance decision in less than three months, which is a significant reduction from a norm of 22 to 26 months early last year. These reforms are being supported with significantly increased resources. Approximately €19m was allocated in budget 2023 to the International Protection Office, IPO, and the International Protection Appeals Tribunal to scale up processing. This will be supported by investment in human resources, infrastructure, technology, and process engineering. As part of the modernisation programme I have put in place, these resources and the impact they are having is being closely monitored and will be adjusted and refined as necessary.
There is an awful lot of information there but the one thing I am still not clear on, is the Minister of State said 13,661 applications came in last year. I think was the figure he gave. He did not tell me at this moment in time exactly how many applications the Department has live or on hand. That is key because some could still be there from the previous year, and some from last year's could be dealt with so what I am looking for is: how many applications are on hand?
The second issue most of us deal with when constituents who come in with queries is international protection. We ask questions of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, INIS, and to say that the answers are bland is to put it mildly. There is no information at all as to how the application is progressing and what the timescale that individuals can expect will take to deal with their application. The Minister of State gave me more information than we ever get from INIS. Are the applications dealt with chronologically, or how are they selected? The more information we get the less number of queries he will get and the more time they will have for actually processing applications.
I thank the Deputy again for his question. I do not have the figure he seeks to hand but I will undertake to get it for him. Regarding the information, part of the challenge is the sheer volume of requests that come in. However, the Department and the Minister have undertaken to reach out to Deputies to see what the particular difficulties they are having in dealing with international protection applications, and how we can improve that system for them so they can get the information they need. I agree it can be a challenge and they are often left coming to myself or the Minister to try to get the particular information. The more we can streamline that information, the better.
I had a little bit of experience running a processing plant at one stage and one thing I learned is that one can always get a process that is better. One thing I cannot understand is that there must be a process and steps by which these files are dealt with. Presumably, with computer systems and so on, each step could be recorded and then the person could be given an accurate guess as to where the application is, how many steps are in the process, whether the application is at step 3, step 4 or whatever and when the decision will be given, a bit like what the Passport Office does. I always think it is better the more information we give people. There have been some applications there for a long time and we just get absolutely bland answers and no information. It is frustrating for the constituent, and it is very frustrating for our offices who seem to be talking to a black hole. If we table parliamentary questions, we are told to go to INIS, but if we go to INIS, I could nearly write the answers myself they are so bland. I could just keep copying and pasting them and not even bother checking with the Minister of State. I am not trying to be too hard but if he got a process expert in, he or she could tell him how to connect it to a computer so that it could tell him how to get the information back.
I suppose the challenge is that many of these applications can be very complex. People often come to Ireland from some very traumatic situations looking for help. They often have had to flee their situation with no notice and it can be quite challenging to process those people. It is not a simple case of moving along A, B, C in a processing plant. These cases can be very complex and they can get caught at a particular moment in time when we are trying to get particular information or process them. Sometimes when the Deputy is given an answer, it can be quite bland but to actually give the detailed answer might require quite a complex answer that can take a considerable time as well. We will endeavour to get to a position where we can get more straightforward answers for Deputies. Sometimes there has to be an understanding too that many of these applications are exceptionally complex cases that require a complex thought process, an application of the law, and ensuring the law is applied correctly to these applicants who are often in very difficult situations.
