Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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334. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality how many international protection applicants were received and how many were approved during all of 2022; how many were processed and how many were approved from the beginning of 2023 to 7 November 2023; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49483/23]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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My Department is taking all necessary steps to manage the international protection process fairly and efficiently, as part of the broader Government response to this challenging issue.

The number of international protection applications last year was 13,651, a significant increase on recent years. It represents a 186% increase on the number received in 2019, the most recent year in which application numbers were not impacted by Covid-19.

In July this year, I published a report on the international protection modernisation programme for 2023 and 2024. As part of this programme, a number of measures have been implemented to improve efficiencies and throughput, in tandem with improvements to the application, interview and decision-making process. This programme builds on steps to increase the number of applications processed by 97% from 2,484 in 2021 to 4,899 in 2022.

These reforms are having a significant impact. The median processing time for first-instance decisions in for 2023 is ten months, a reduction from 18 months over the course of 2022. The median processing times for appeals in 2023 is five months, down from 15 months at the beginning of 2022.

As part of this programme, I signed a regulation on November 2022 to introduce an accelerated procedure for international protection applicants from safe countries of origin was introduced.

Applicants from safe countries of origin now receive a first instance decision in less than three months, which is a significant reduction from a norm of 22 to 26 months early last year. These reforms are being supported with significantly increased resources. Approximately €34m has been allocated in budget 2024 to the International Protection Office, IPO, and the International Protection Appeals Tribunal to continue to scale up processing. This will be supported by investment in human resources, infrastructure, technology, and process engineering. As part of the modernisation programme I have put in place, these resources and the impact they are having is being closely monitored and will be adjusted and refined as necessary.

As part of this programme, a number of measures have been implemented to improve efficiencies and throughput.This year, to end October 2023, the IPO completed 7,117 first instance decisions – an increase of 66.3% on the same period last year, increasing even further the rate of decisions year on year. The table below sets out IPO first instance grant and refusal decisions issued in 2022 and 2023 to end of October 2023*.

*To end October 2023. There is no correlation between year of application and year decision issued.

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 Deputy may also wish to know that my Department has created a 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 are published on a monthly basis.

www.gov.ie/en/collection/48a28-international-protection-in-numbers/

Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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335. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality how many staff are working in the international protection Office for the processing of International Protection applications; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49485/23]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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In the International Protection Office (IPO), the government is investing in the recruitment of staff, as part of an ongoing modernisation strategy to increase the use of digitisation, speed up decision-making, and give clarity to those seeking protection as early as possible.

The number of staff in the IPO has increased by 89% this year from 206 to 389. The extra staff assigned has seen a doubling of decisions in the IPO this year 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. Additional funding allocated in Budget 2024 will support further resourcing of the IPO including recruiting up to 125 additional staff with the purpose of meeting a processing target of 1200 decisions a month by the end of 2024.

In addition, case processing panel members are contracted by the Department to make recommendations on International Protection cases to the International Protection Office. The number of panel members to be recruited in the IPO and International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) will continue to be increased for the remainder of 2023 and into 2024.

These panel members will be supported by increased training and quality control support from the UNHCR. This expansion in human resources has already resulted in a substantial increase in the number of recommendations made.

Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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336. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if staff in the international protection office who were processing International Protection applications were moved to a different section during Covid-19; if so, whether they were replaced or reinstated since; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49486/23]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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My 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.

During the Covid-19 public health emergency, resources were allocated as required to ensure business delivery continued. A small number of experienced staff were temporarily reassigned to the Border Management Unit from the IPO during the pandemic to support that unit.

As part of the International Protection Office's (IPO) ongoing modernisation strategy, the IPO are increasing digitisation and speeding up decision-making to give clarity to those seeking protection as early as possible. There has been a significant increase in the number of staff in the IPO with an increase of 89% this year so far. I have secured funding in Budget 2024 to continue this investment in resources for the IPO.

The extra resources assigned have already seen a doubling of decisions in the IPO this year.

Staffing figures in the International Protection Office for the past 3 years are set out in the table below.

*To 10 November 2023.

My Department has created a website to provide detailed statistics and metrics in relation to processing of applications for protection. These statistics are updated on a monthly basis.

www.gov.ie/en/collection/48a28-international-protection-in-numbers/