The International Protection Office (IPO) will prioritise cases from the top two countries of origin with the highest number of applications in the past three months, Justice Minister Helen McEntee announced today.
In Q2 2024, there were 881 international protection applications from Jordan, making it the second highest volume of applications. Consequently, applicants from Jordan will now be processed on an accelerated basis, as part of the expanded highest volume category.
This expansion builds on measures introduced in April 2024, which prioritised applicants from Nigeria, the country with the highest number of applications in the previous quarter. The Government claims that expanding the category to include the second highest number of applications aims to further speed up processing and align with the EU Migration Pact.
Accelerated processing, introduced by McEntee in November 2022, now applies to applicants from 15 designated safe countries of origin, those who have received protection elsewhere in Europe, and citizens of the countries with the most applications in the previous quarter.
“In April I extended accelerated processing measures to whichever country had the highest number of applicants in the previous three-month period,” McEntee said in a statement this morning.
“This country was Nigeria, which has seen a 53% drop in applications since being brought to the accelerated process.
“By expanding this to include the country with the second highest number of applicants, I am further speeding up international protection processing. This country is currently Jordan and so applicants from this country will now be subject to the accelerated process.
“Accelerated processing allows for faster decisions so, if a person is entitled to protection, they can get on with re-building their lives here in Ireland, and those who do not qualify can return to their own country in a timely manner.”
“I will continue to make regular assessments on which applicants will be subject to the accelerated process. Migration patterns can shift and change, and we must remain flexible and adaptive to maintain the integrity and efficiency of our immigration system.”
According to the Department of Justice, since the introduction of accelerated procedures, there has been a drop of up to 70% in applications from designated safe countries. The list of safe countries is reviewed regularly based on the profile of applications received.
They also say they have suspended visa-free travel for refugees with a Convention Travel Document issued by another state, and provided additional funding for the deployment of Garda Airline Liaison Officers to European transport hubs to prevent irregular migration. The Department says that An Garda Síochána have arrested 115 people in the first half of 2024 for arriving without appropriate documentation and a “significant number” have been convicted.
The department also claims to have increased resources at Dublin Airport to carry out operations on flights posing risks of irregular migration, with over 3,700 such operations conducted in the first half of 2024. Additionally, An Garda Síochána have arrested 115 people in the first half of 2024 for arriving without appropriate documentation, with a significant number convicted.
Last year, there was reportedly a reduction of one-third in the number of persons arriving at Dublin Airport without the correct documentation. This apparent trend seems to have continued in 2024, with numbers on course to be approximately 50% of those in 2022.