The International Protection Office is to prioritise applicant cases from Nigeria and Jordan, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has said.
These are the two countries of origin for asylum seekers that had the highest number of applicants over the previous three months.
They are also distinct from the list of 15 designated ‘safe countries’ which also go through an accelerated application process.
In April, citizens from the country with the highest number of applicants in the previous three months, which was Nigeria, went through 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”
The minister said by expanding the accelerated process to the top two countries she will further speed up international protection processing.
She added that applicants from Nigeria had decreased by 53% since being brought into 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,” Ms McEntee said.
As of 30 June, 10,600 people had sought international protection in Ireland this year.
Ms McEntee said that “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,” she said.
“Migration patterns can shift and change, and we must remain flexible and adaptive to maintain the integrity and efficiency of our immigration system,” Minister McEntee added.
The Department of Justice has doubled the staff assigned to the International Protection Office in a bid to speed up the processing of asylum applicants.
A new processing location was opened at Citywest in Dublin in April.
The number of deportation orders has increased by 90% year on year, 1,174 up to 25 July this year compared with 617 up to July 2023.
Safe countries
Accelerated processing was introduced in November 2022.
There are now 15 countries of safe origin that undergo accelerated process of applications.
They are Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Egypt, Georgia, India, Kosovo, Malawi, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Morocco, Serbia and South Africa.
Asylum applicants from a country deemed to be safe will have their case considered and decision issued within a maximum of 90 days.
Designating a state as a ‘safe country of origin’ does not mean that a person cannot apply for asylum in Ireland.
However, it does put the onus on the applicant to demonstrate why, and by way of exception, they are in need of asylum.