Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 12 July 2023
181. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Justice the international protection recognition rates for all countries of origin at first instance and appeal stages, in 2022 and to date in 2023, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34617/23]
View answerMy Department takes all necessary steps to manage the international protection process efficiently and effectively, while ensuring the integrity of those processes is maintained at all times.
The International Protection Office (IPO) of my Department is responsible for examining all international protection applications received. The staff of the IPO are independent by law in the exercise of their international protection functions.
In 2022, almost 5,000 first instance decisions were made by the IPO – a higher number than any annual number of applications over the past five years and exceeding the Catherine Day Report target of 3,500. Of those cases, 1,388 were granted refugee status, 70 were granted subsidiary protection, 2,077 were granted permission to remain while 1,366 were refused a grant.
Between 1 January and 1 July 2023, 3996 first instance decisions were made. Of those cases, 983 were granted refugee status, 98 were granted subsidiary protection, 353 were granted permission to remain while 2477 were refused a grant and 85 were deemed inadmissible.
The higher proportion of cases granted permission to remain in 2022 reflects the impact of the International Protection strand of the regularisation arrangements introduced in parallel with the general undocumented scheme.
The International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) is a statutorily independent body and exercises a quasi-judicial function under the International Protection Act 2015.
The Tribunal has provided data sought by the Deputy with regard to the recognition rates for appeals. In 2022 a total of 1,300 decisions were issued by the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) and of those cases 496 were granted and 804 were refused by the Tribunal.
Between 1 January and 1 July 2023, a total of 757 decisions were issued by the Tribunal and of those cases 229 were granted and 528 were refused by the Tribunal.
My Department does not maintain statistics in a manner that would provide a detailed breakdown of recognition rates for recommendations or decisions on appeals according to country of origin.
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.
Significant investment in human resources and other modernisation initiatives is underway with a view to reducing processing times for international protection applicants, ensuring that those in need of protection receive that status without undue delay, while those that do not qualify are advised of this in good time.
The Deputy may also wish to know that my Department has created a new website to provide a detailed overview of the International Protection process in Ireland which can be accessed at:
www.gov.ie/en/campaigns/304ba-international-protection/
This site also provides detailed statistics and metrics in relation to processing of applications for protection. These statistics will be published on a monthly basis.
www.gov.ie/en/collection/48a28-international-protection-in-numbers/
