Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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14. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if her Department will undertake a review of the suitability of the International Protection Office in Mount Street to process applications for international protection, given the significant increase in the number of people making applications at the office; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38170/24]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I am extremely concerned about the International Protection Office in Mount Street. As the Minister is aware, over the past 18 months the number of people applying for international protection has put considerable pressure on the office on Mount Street, such that I am concerned about the capacity and suitability of it. Does the Minister have any plan to conduct a review of it? Does she have any plan to identify other locations where people can apply for international protection?

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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In recent years, I have increased investment at every level of the international protection system, including in the International Protection Office, to deal effectively with the increase in applications. As a consequence, there are now more than 500 staff based at the Mount Street premises, involved in all stages of the international protection process, from initial registration, through to interview and issuing of determinations.

The location of the office, which has been in use for this purpose for more than 20 years, is highly accessible for applicants, staff and the multiple other agencies involved in the overall process and support of those seeking international protection. Moreover, it has been configured and equipped to deal with the complex requirements for reception and interviewing of applicants. In fact, further investment is being made this winter to improve the layout and facilities of the reception area, where applicants go through the initial steps of the application process.

I can, however, advise the Deputy that, as a result of the increase in applications, my Department has opened a second processing centre to register families accompanied by children at the Citywest complex. Since this processing site was opened last April, approximately 43% of all new international protection applicants have been making their submissions there. This has significantly reduced the number of applications that may otherwise have been made at the Mount Street location. The IPO is also exploring innovative means of expanding interview and registration capacity, including piloting of remote interviews and, in the context of the migration pact implementation, co-location with IPAS accommodation centres.

These steps will likely further vary how and where my Department locates our processing but given the continued high volume of applications, and the considerable investment in the well-established capacity provided at Mount Street, there are no plans to cease to rely on that location. I acknowledge the unbelievable work undertaken by all members of the staff. We have significantly ramped up the number of people working in the office. As I have said, many of them are now working in Citywest also. Because of this hard work we have gone from processing on average 3,000 to 4,000 applications a year to this year when we will most likely process 14,000 applications. I will continue to keep under review where and how we can invest and improve the overall processing.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister. As the Minister has said, the International Protection Office has been present on Mount Street for more than 20 years. I have been a Deputy since 2016 and there has never really been any issue with the office operating there, except over the past 18 months. What has happened is that, as we are all aware, the number of people applying for international protection has increased significantly. Until the office in Citywest was opened, everyone was applying for international protection at Mount Street. It put extraordinary pressure on the office. It is objectively fair to say that demonstrably the office was not able to cope with the number of people applying there. As a consequence, we have had a situation developing over the past 18 months when tents were being pitched in the vicinity of the office. I have enormous sympathy for the people who are seeking international protection but as a TD for the area I must also speak out for the residents and the businesses. I ask the Minister to give consideration to opening other offices so the pressure is taken off Mount Street a bit.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy O'Callaghan. It is for the reason he has outlined and I have outlined, which is a significant increase in the number of international protection applicants, that a second centre has been opened. Almost 50% of applicants who would have been going to Mount Street are now going to Citywest. I believe it is a more appropriate location, particularly when women and children are being processed. The increase in staff means there are now 541 staff members, an increase of 155% in the past two years alone. This has resulted in 14,000 decisions being made this year. I am not just investing in people. We are investing in the systems and the way in which we are processing. More and more people are now going into accelerated processing. This means applications are being seen quicker which means it is more efficient, and this puts less pressure and stress on the environment, the building and the people working in it. We now have 15 countries of safe origin that are being accelerated. We now have applicants who have received protection elsewhere in this accelerated process. Citizens of Nigeria and Jordan, the countries which provide the highest number of applicants at present, have gone into this accelerated processing. Because of this we have seen in some instances a reduction in the number of people coming from these countries by approximately 70%. All of this will assist in the overall structures that are there. This is always kept under consideration.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister. It is still the case that 57% of all applicants apply physically by arriving at Mount Street. We need to look at what happens in other countries, where they have a series of different locations where people can apply for international protection. It does not appear to make sense to me that we have only one or two physical locations where people apply. We should also be considering applying new technologies so people can apply online for international protection without the necessity of having to arrive here with all the trauma it can give rise to.

We need to look at this because it will not be sustainable for the people of Mount Street, the businesses on Mount Street and the people coming into the city centre. We need to take into account our capital city also. As I have said previously, we have great sympathy for the people seeking international protection but I must also represent the interests of the very decent people who live in the area, who are hesitant about speaking out about it because they are subject to criticism but whose lives are being significantly undermined, as is their quality of life, by this ongoing problem on Mount Street. I ask the Minister to consider it for review.

Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the discussion and I very much welcome the investment in people and places. It is very important that we diversify the option for the purposes of ensuring in the first instance that we can keep people out of tents in the city centre. That is an objective I think we all share in this House. I make the point to Deputy O'Callaghan that one does not necessarily need to be the local TD to make that observation. I certainly agree that in the protection of those individuals and the processing of those applications, and in ensuring those individuals are treated humanely, we should have an objective to provide more facilities to ensure we can process individuals in a more timely manner. As I said, however, I really welcome the investment in people and places, particularly with regard to the number of processing staff and the reduction in time it will take now that we have signed up to the pan-European arrangements. I know the huge work that is being done by individuals within the Minister's Department to get that up and off the ground.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the previous Deputy just mentioned, we have joined the EU migration pact and, obviously, there is a significant amount of planning under way to make sure we are ready to fully join the pact within the two-year timeframe when it becomes operational. As part of that, we are exploring, as we have been doing and investing in recent years, new and innovative ways in which we can expand our interview and our registration capacity. We are piloting remote interviews as well, which has already started. We are also looking at co-location with IPAS accommodation centres to look beyond the Mount Street centre and City West centre to see what other areas we can use. Obviously, the pact has certain stipulations as to where certain people will have to be processed. All that work is under way. Again, with the upcoming budget, I intend to make sure that increase in staff continues, but also the investment in technologies and in new ways of making sure people are dealt with in the most efficient and effective way possible. This is not about putting blockages in place. This is about making sure the people who need our help and assistance get it as quickly as possible, but also that those who do not and who are not entitled to it are removed from the country as quickly as possible.