Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 22 November 2023
123. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Justice the all-in projected cost of reducing waiting times for first instance decisions from the International Protection Office by 10%, 25% and 50%, including the recruitment of any staff required to meet this target. [51353/23]
View answer124. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Justice the all-in projected cost if yearly completed applications through the International Protection Office were to be increased by 50%, 100% and 200% from the 2023 base number, including the recruitment of any staff required to meet this target. [51354/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 123 and 124 together.
My Department is taking all necessary steps to manage the international protection process fairly, efficiently and effectively while ensuring the integrity of Ireland's rules-based immigration system is maintained.
In July this year, I published a report on the international protection modernisation programme for 2023 and 2024. This programme is implementing measures to improve efficiencies and throughput as well as improving the application, interview and decision-making process for applicants. This will give 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 do not meet the criteria.
Already these reforms are having a significant impact with the median processing time for first-instance decisions reducing from 18 months in 2022 down to 15 months in 2023. The median processing times for appeals is also down from 15 months at the beginning of 2022 to five months in 2023.
Reforms to the international protection process will continue in 2024. Approximately €34m was allocated in budget 2024 to the International Protection Office (IPO) and the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) to continue to scale up processing.
The processing time for each case is different as case types and circumstances vary considerably. In addition nearly 14% of cases at the IPO this year relate to applicants from designated safe countries of origin. These particular first-instance decisions are made in under three months under an accelerated process. The IPO also works with UNHCR to expedite applications from a number of countries experiencing conflict such as Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen.
Given these variable factors, and having particular regard to the varying level of applications from month to month, the IPO is unable to precisely correlate between cost and number of staff with reducing waiting times for first instance decisions.
However, I can inform the Deputy that the IPO expects to have approximately 400 staff by the end of 2023, an increase of 95% over 2022, and will make approximately 9,000 decisions this year, more than double that made last year. This increase in processing capacity is aimed at 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 IPO is also introducing a number of modernisation initiatives that includes the introduction of digital applications. Early results show a reduction in processing times as a consequence. The IPO expects the benefits of digitisation to become more quantifiable in the coming months.
The Deputy may also wish to know that the Department’s website provides a detailed overview of the International Protection process in Ireland as well as monthly statistics and metrics on the processing of international protection applications. This can be accessed at:
www.gov.ie/en/campaigns/304ba-international-protection/
www.gov.ie/en/collection/48a28-international-protection-in-numbers/.
