My Department is committed to reducing processing times for international protection applicants and is taking steps to ensure that applications are dealt with as quickly as possible.
The number of International Protection applications last year was 13,651 – a significant increase on recent years. The application figure for 2022 represents a 186% increase on the same period in 2019, the last year in which application numbers were not impacted by COVID-19.
Between January 1 and May 3 2023, a total of 3,747 applications for international protection have been made, compared to 3,479 in the same period last year.
Notwithstanding the very large increase in the number of applications during 2022 and to date in 2023, there has been a significant reduction in median processing times in 2022 down to 10 months in quarter 4 from a norm of 22-26 months earlier last year. The median processing time for cases processed to completion for all of 2022 was 18 months. This represents a reduction of 8 months in processing time over the course of the year. The median processing time for all cases processed to completion in quarter 1 of 2023 was 10 months.
Median figures are collated rather than an average, as cases with unusually long or short processing times can skew the data. The median figure is more representative of the ‘normal’ processing time.
In 2022, almost 5,000 first instance decisions were made – a higher number than any annual number of applications over the past five years and exceeding the Catherine Day Report target of 3,500. Of those cases, 1,388 were granted refugee status, 70 were granted subsidiary protection, 2,077 were granted permission to remain while 1,366 were refused a grant.
Between January 1 and April 30 2023, almost 2,500 first instance decisions were made. Of those cases, 532 were granted refugee status, 49 were granted subsidiary protection, 272 were granted permission to remain wile 1,633 were refused a grant.
My Department does not maintain statistics in a manner that would provide a detailed breakdown of recognition rates for recommendations sorted by country of origin.
The Government has committed additional funding of nearly €18m for the IPO in 2023 that will go towards improving efficiency in processing applications, including by increasing staff numbers.
Overall, my Department is working to minimise the timeframe for receiving a decision on an international protection application, allowing those eligible to remain the opportunity to rebuild their lives. Those who are not entitled to the protection of the State will also be advised of that fact as quickly as possible.
