Figures given to Gript by the Department of Justice reveal that the number of asylum seekers granted ‘Permission to Remain’ by the Minister for Justice after their case has concluded has plummeted since 2022.
From a high of 2835 applicants granted permission to remain in 2022, the number has declined year-on-year to just 175 in 2025.
The largest fall in the number of applicants granted permission to remain came between 2022 and 2023, a decline of 1824 grants, from 2835 to 1011.
If the International Protection Office (IPO) recommends that a person is not entitled to either refugee status or subsidiary protection, the Minister for Justice then considers whether or not to grant discretionary permission to remain.
According to the Department of Justice, a number of factors are considered by the Minister when making the decision to grant or refuse permission, such as humanitarian considerations and the nature of a person’s connection with Ireland, or lack thereof, among other things.
Whether or not there is a risk that returning a person to another country could result in their harm is considered by the Minister, as well as the information provided during the application process.
“The higher proportion of cases granted permission to remain in 2022 reflects the suspension of refusals during the COVID pandemic on humanitarian grounds (except in cases of serious criminality) meaning people were in the International Protection process longer, potentially giving rise to personal or family circumstances which are relevant to the considerations set out above in the International Protection Act,” a spokesperson for the Department told Gript.
“The undocumented regularisation scheme also had an impact on the number of permissions to remain granted in 2022 and into 2023,” the spokesperson said, adding that “this began to change in 2023, with a lower number of permission to remain grants with ‘normal’ decision making having resumed post-COVID”.
The Undocumented Regularisation Scheme was introduced by Minister Helen McEntee for a limited period in 2022, and enabled illegal immigrants to apply for and avail of an amnesty which allowed them to stay indefinitely in the country and avail of services without fear of deportation.
Over 8,300 applications were made under the scheme, as reported by Gript in 2023.
The spokesperson also attributed the fall in grants to IPO reforms “giving effect to quicker case processing, not least the introduction of the accelerated decision making process”.
The number of people granted permission to remain this year (175) outstrips those removed from the State by charter flight (106), of which three have taken place this year.
The Minister’s office was offered the opportunity to comment, but no response was forthcoming by the time of publication.