Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 June 2026
407. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the total number of asylum applications in the State for the years 2020 to date in 2026; and the number of applications accepted and refused for the same period, in tabular form. [46430/26]
View answerI am fully committed to ensuring that Ireland’s International Protection system is robust, and rules based, and that our borders are protected.
The number of International Protection applications have been rising over the past number of years, reaching 18,500 in 2024. In 2025, application numbers reduced by approximately a third.
There has been a significantly increased investment into the international protection system to improve efficiencies and throughput as well as enhancing the application, interview and decision-making process for applicants.
The International Protection Act 2026 gives effect to the EU Migration and Asylum Pact and came into effect on 12 June 2026.
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.
The below tables details the number of applications made from 2020 to 2025. Figures for 2026 are not currently available. I will write to the Deputy when that data is available.
|
Year of Application |
Total |
|
2020 |
1,565 |
|
2021 |
2,647 |
|
2022 |
13,642 |
|
2023 |
13,271 |
|
2024 |
18,553 |
|
2025 |
13,146 |
The below tables details the number of first instance decisions made from 2020 to 2025. Figures for 2026 are not currently available. I will write to the Deputy when that data is available.
|
First instance decisions |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
|
Granted (RS, SP, PTR) |
725 |
1,521 |
3,537 |
3,235 |
3,906 |
3,743 |
|
Percentage |
32.17% |
61.78% |
71.86% |
36.79% |
28.07% |
18.55% |
|
Refused / withdrew / inadmissible/ Dormant |
1,529 |
941 |
1,385 |
5,558 |
10,010 |
16,434 |
|
Percentage |
67.83% |
38.22 |
28.14% |
63.21% |
71.93% |
81.45% |
Please note, figures are correct at time of issue, however, all statistics may be subject to data cleansing.
