The International Protection Act was passed into law last month and will enable implementation of the EU Migration and Asylum Pact.
The Pact will provide a fair, sustainable and efficient asylum procedure. This will be achieved through convergence in asylum practices across the EU, including standardised processing times for decisions: six months for a standard procedure, three months for accelerated and border procedures and two months for processing applicants who have applied for protection elsewhere in Europe.
People applying for asylum will remain eligible for reception conditions, including accommodation and basic supports, and numbers eligible will depend on application numbers. However, faster processing times will mean that applicants will need to spend less time in International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) accommodation, and this will reduce costs to the State.
Faster decision-making will also mean that successful applicants will be granted international protection sooner, and those whose applications are refused can be returned to their country of origin sooner.
The Department continues to focus on preparing for these new rules, to take effect on 12 June 2026.
When people seeking international protection arrive at any IPAS accommodation centre, they are provided with the ‘IPAS House Rules’ which explains the rules and procedures that are designed to make reception and accommodation centres safe and effective.
Where a resident is repeatedly in breach of the house rules or, following a particularly serious breach, IPAS may relocate them to another accommodation centre. In instances where there are serious or repeated breaches of the house rules, consideration may be given under Section 7 of the Regulations to amending the reception conditions afforded to a resident. This involves withdrawing IPAS accommodation.
