As the Deputy will be aware, the International Protection Act 2026 was signed into law last month, giving effect to the EU Migration and Asylum Pact. My Department continues to focus on preparing for the commencement of the Act on 12 June 2026, which is the day on which the measures of the Pact come into effect.
The EU Migration and Asylum Pact has been designed to establish a common approach to migration and asylum that is partly based on the concepts of solidarity and responsibility amongst Member States.
The Crisis and Force Majeure Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2024/1359) addresses exceptional situations of crisis, including instrumentalisation, and force majeure, in the field of migration and asylum within the EU by means of temporary measures.
For the purposes of the Crisis and Force Majeure Regulation, a situation of crisis means:
(a) an exceptional situation of mass arrivals of third-country nationals or stateless persons in a Member State by land, air or sea, including of persons that have been disembarked following search and rescue operations, of such a scale and nature, taking into account, inter alia, the population, GDP and geographical specificities of the Member State, including the size of the territory, that it renders the Member State’s well-prepared asylum, reception, including child protection services, or return system non-functional, including as a result of a situation at local or regional level, such that there could be serious consequences for the functioning of the Common European Asylum System; or
(b) a situation of instrumentalisation where a third country or a hostile non-state actor encourages or facilitates the movement of third-country nationals or stateless persons to the external borders or to a Member State, with the aim of destabilising the European Union or a Member State, and where such actions are liable to put at risk essential functions of a Member State, including the maintenance of law and order or the safeguard of its national security.
For the purposes of the Regulation, force majeure refers to abnormal and unforeseeable circumstances outside a Member State’s control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided notwithstanding the exercise of all due care, which prevent that Member State from complying with obligations under the Asylum and Migration Management Regulation and the Asylum Procedures Regulation.
Should a Member State find itself in a crisis situation, it may request the European Commission to activate the procedure set out in the Crisis and Force Regulation. The Commission will make a decision on whether a Member State is facing a situation of crisis or force majeure, and Council will make an implementing decision, by qualified majority, on the appropriate measures to be taken under the Regulation to address the situation.
These measures may include flexibility in applying the border procedure and the extension of timeframes in determining the Member States responsible in the case of mass arrivals. While the Regulation does make provision for the possibility of longer registration deadlines to register applications for international protection, it does not envisage the suspension of new applications at the border.
Section 239 of the International Protection Act 2026 sets out the procedures to be followed where the Government consider the State to be in a situation of crisis or force majeure within the meaning of the Crisis and Force Majeure Regulation. A request to the Commission to activate the procedure in the Regulation can only be done on foot of a Government order. The draft of such a Government order and of the request to the Commission will be subject to a positive resolution of each House of the Oireachtas.
Temporary Protection is governed by Council Directive 2001/55/EC of 20 July 2001 on minimum standards for giving temporary protection in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons and on measures promoting a balance of efforts between Member States in receiving such persons and bearing the consequences thereof. Under the Directive, the existence of a mass influx of displaced persons shall be established by a Council Decision adopted by a qualified majority on a proposal from the Commission.
