International Protection Bill 2026: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-25
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Matt Carthy (SF), Cavan-Monaghan

I want to hear the Minister of State’s response on amendment No. 21 before I speak about it directly. Before that, I want to speak about amendment No. 79, which is grouped with amendment No. 21. I am not entirely sure why it is grouped because it relates to ensuring that in the statistics compiled by the Department, we include information provided by applicants for international protection regarding any prior immigration status or permission while in the State. I found it quite bizarre and very surprising that this information is not kept at source and compiled annually. I am referring to the number of people who apply for international protection who will have previously been in the State on another permit, whether it be a student permit, employment permit, other work-related permit, a short-stay tourism visa, a family reunification or dependant permit, or any other immigration permit.
It is important that we get that information because it fits in with the conversation we were having last year. Assumptions are made all the time. I repeated on a number of occasions last week that we have had different Ministers saying different things in respect of the proportion of people who enter the State via the common travel area. Some Ministers have referred to a proportion of 80% and others have given other proportions. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy McEntee, said at one stage it was up to 90%. That makes for a good headline, the implication being that since the 90% are coming across the Border, there is nothing the State can do about it. When you delve into the statistics, you realise there is no way Deputy McEntee or any other Minister can know the proportion because the Government has been assuming that every single person who presents for international protection but who has not presented at a port or airport has entered the State via the common travel area. However, we know from international experience and from states that compile the relevant figures that there are numerous other categories. Sometimes a person who has permission to be in the State will apply for international protection subsequently. To be clear, such people are entitled to apply and to have their applications adjudicated upon on the same basis as anybody else.
If we are serious about having a comprehensive policy and a set of proposals on how to deal with these things, we clearly need to have the relevant information to hand. It would be helpful if the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, gave us an indication of his position because the chances of our getting to amendment No. 79 before 11 p.m. are fairly slim. We will have no Report Stage in the Dáil, which is bizarre. Either way, it is unacceptable. Could the Minister of State indicate whether, in the Seanad, the Government will be introducing an amendment on this matter?

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Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:41+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-25