Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 June 2026
567. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of whole-time equivalent staff assigned to the International Protection Office and to immigration permission and registration functions respectively for each year from 1 January 2023 to date, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48955/26]
View answer568. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the details of any staff redeployments, temporary assignments or transfers from immigration registration, residence permission or Irish residence permit processing functions to the International Protection Office, the International Protection Accommodation Service, or any function related to the implementation of the EU Migration and Asylum Pact or the International Protection Act, from 1 January 2023 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48956/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 567 and 568 together.
I can advise the Deputy that there has been significant investment in staff across both Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) of my Department, as well as the entire international protection process in recent years.
As of 09 June 2026, the International Protection Office (IPO) has 622 staff, an increase of 194% since 2022. In addition, 158 case processing panel members are also contracted by the IPO.
While some staff have transferred from various units across ISD to the IPO and teams relating to the EU Migration and Asylum Pact, the staff assigned to the Registration Office has more than doubled since 2023.
Table 1 below details the number of staff assigned to the IPO at the end of each year from 2023 to 2025, as well as the number of staff as of 09 June 2026.
Table 1
|
Year |
Number of staff |
|
2023 |
408 |
|
2024 |
595 |
|
2025 |
627 |
|
2026 (as of 09 June) |
622 |
*Please note, figures are correct at time of issue, however, all statistics may be subject to data cleansing.
Table 2 sets out the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff assigned to the Registration Office within ISD at the end of each year from 2023 to 2025, as well as the number of staff as of 15 June 2026.
Table 2
|
Year |
Number of FTE Staff |
|
2023 |
40.6 |
|
2024 |
89.1 |
|
2025 |
81.7 |
|
2026 (as of 15 June) |
93.1 |
*Please note, figures are correct at time of issue, however, all statistics may be subject to data cleansing.
Staffing levels are kept under ongoing review having regard to demands placed on my Department’s ISD function generally.
