Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 July 2026
533. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the total amount spent on translation and interpretation services across the international protection system in each year from 2020 to date in 2026, in tabular form. [52973/26]
View answerIt is a central priority for me that Ireland’s immigration system is robust and rules based.
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. Year-to-date application numbers in 2026 are around 3,800 and this figure is in line with applications made in the same period in 2025.
In 2025, the International Protection Office (IPO) delivered over 20,200 first instance decisions compared to approximately 14,100 in 2024: a 44% increase. IPAT more than doubled the number of appeals closed from 3,100 in 2024 to nearly 6,300 in 2025. This year as of 5 July, IPAT has already closed 4,812 appeals and is on track to significantly exceed the number of appeals closed in 2025.
As the Deputy will be aware, the International Protection Act 2026 gives effect to the EU Migration and Asylum Pact and came into effect on 12 June 2026.
The Pact provides 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.
Having a common system across the EU makes sure that all applicants are treated the same in every Member State with no incentive to move from one to another. If Ireland had not opted into the Pact, it is likely that we would face higher levels of secondary movement, slower processing and a less efficient returns system. This would result in applicants staying in the system for much longer, at much greater cost to the State, in terms of the provision of accommodation and other supports.
The table at the link below details translation and interpretation costs spend across immigration services, including international protection, by my Department from 2020 to end of June 2026.
The increase in spend since 2025 is partly attributable to the return of International Protection Accommodation Services and the Irish Refugee Protection Programme to the Department.
*To End of June 2026.
