Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 February 2026
447. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether the Government operates a formal capacity-based planning framework linking annual inward migration projections, including asylum and temporary protection; if so, to provide details of the metrics used; and if not, whether he will introduce such a framework. [13862/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra448. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the projected gross inward migration figures for 2026 and 2027, broken down by international protection applicants, beneficiaries of temporary protection, and family reunification. [13863/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 447 and 448 together.
The Programme for Government contains a commitment to publish a National Migration and Integration Strategy detailing how Government intends to meet the demands and the opportunities facing Ireland’s society and economy over the next decade.
My Department is currently working collaboratively with a wide range of other Government departments to develop this strategy with the aim to publish Ireland’s first overarching whole-of-government National Migration and Integration Strategy later this year.
The Strategy will include a wider range of issues relating to migration, including planning for public service provision.
To that end, a Strategic Migration Policy Group (SMPG) was established in December 2024 to support that work which now consists of ten Government Departments meeting at senior official level.
The ten Departments represented on the SMPG are:
Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration (Chairing)
Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment
Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Department of Finance
Department of Social Protection
Department of an Taoiseach
Department of Health
Department of Education and Youth
Department of Rural and Cultural Development and the Gaeltacht
Each Department represents the interests of the agencies under their remit which have also provided inputs to the Group as required.
The SMPG and its working group has now met on 14 occasions for detailed discussions on different aspects of the Strategy.
The key objective of the Strategy and the SMPG is to develop a whole-of-government approach to migration policy that is coherent across Departments and responsive in seeking to address Ireland’s current and future demographic, economic and social policy needs.
I can inform the Deputy that the Central Statistics Office, which is fully independent in its role, has produced population projections for 2023 to 2057 depending on different migration scenarios. This data can be accessed at the following link: www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-plfp/populationandlabourforceprojections2023-2057/
More broadly, capacity-based planning for Government services is a matter for each Department in its area of responsibility, be that Health, Education, Housing or any other sector, whether the demand for those services increases or declines in line with demographic changes, and whether those demographic changes arise from natural increases or declines in population or from immigration or emigration. The Government considers such matters at a central level in initiatives such as the National Development Plan and National Planning Framework, and via consideration at appropriate Cabinet Committees of capacity planning measures.
