International Protection Bill 2026: Committee Stage
Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-18
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Jim O'Callaghan (FF), Dublin Bay South

It is good timing by my constituents as well.
This was debated on Second Stage in this House and elsewhere. When whoever comes to write the history of the 21st century, migration and immigration is going to be a huge part of it. We are really just seeing that narrative play out. It is an extremely difficult issue for states to deal with, particularly states such as our own which had no real history of immigration prior to the beginning of the 21st century. Migration in Ireland was always in the context of people leaving Ireland. It cast a terrible shadow over Ireland in the 19th and 20th centuries and it really is a sign of the economic and national success of independence that we now find ourselves in a situation where many people want to come into Ireland to live their lives here. At one level, that is a really positive story about the Irish economy and the welcome of the Irish people.
As Minister for justice and as the Government, when it comes to migration there are a number of different areas that we have to appraise and keep control of. Obviously, people can come into Ireland to work if they are from European Union member states. That is part of the free movement of workers that Irish people enjoy with other EU member states and, indeed, EU member states enjoy it here. Similarly, with the common travel area, UK citizens can come here to work. We all want to ensure that happens as well.
As well as that, each year, my Department gives out tens of thousands of visa permits to permit people from outside the European economic area to come to Ireland to work and we very much welcome them in and we assess it. We take into account whether it is for the benefit of the Irish economy, taking into account the fact that obviously they are going to take up accommodation spaces. These are all measured factors that have to be taken into account.
A smaller part of migration into Ireland comes in the realm of international protection, which is also known as asylum. Prior to Covid, the numbers coming into Ireland were pretty low, although at the time that Senator McDowell was Minister for justice they did go up. The truth of the matter is that there is a correlation between the number of asylum applications and the economic success of the country. We saw it at the time of the Celtic tiger - asylum numbers went up. When there was the crash, they went down considerably. What is clearly the case, and we have to be sympathetic but honest about this, is that very many people want to come to Ireland to claim asylum because of the strength of the Irish economy.
Senator Keogan read out numbers in terms of the applications that are waiting to be processed.
As I said, before Covid an average of around 3,000 to 4,000 people claimed asylum in Ireland each year. In 2022 it went up to 13,500, in 2023 it was 13,500, and in 2024 it went up to 18,500. That is when we saw people in tents and a real crisis for the country in trying to respond to that.
Last year, asylum figures went down by 30% to 13,000 and that drop was higher than the EU average. In the UK, with which we are inextricably linked, there was a drop of just 4%. I am very conscious that behind every percentage and every figure there is a human being. We have to recognise that when it comes to asylum, my job as Minister for justice and that of the Government is to balance the rights of the asylum applicant with the rights of the State and the public interest. There is clearly a division between politicians, all coming from a perfectly legitimate background. Many politicians will want to emphasise more the rights of the asylum applicant, while others will want to emphasise more the right of the State to protect its resources and be able to manage asylum. It is my job to try to get the balance right, and that is the purpose of this legislation. We are trying to expedite the process.
As I have said before, I cannot ignore the fact that the significant majority of people who claim asylum in Ireland are not granted asylum. That creates considerable difficulties because there are people who have come in, have been here for many years, have set down roots and have children in school. If it takes three to four years for asylum to be processed, and if at the end of that period they are told they are not entitled to be here, that creates considerable difficulties. It creates difficulties for them, as they have spent four years or so here, and it creates difficulties for the State. The benefit of this significant reform of the asylum laws is that it will expedite the process. That is the primary objective of the legislation I am introducing. It will put in place a statutory requirement that many of the applications will have to be dealt with at first instance and appeal within a period of six months, broadly. That will have a benefit for people who are thinking of coming to Ireland. They will know that if they come here and they are not entitled to asylum, their application will be dealt with very quickly and they will be required to leave. The benefit in having a clear rules-based system that operates expeditiously and gets decisions promptly is that people can get on with their lives. People will know that if they come to Ireland and are entitled to claim asylum, they will get their claim and will be welcome, but if they are not, they will be rejected and will have to leave.
Senator Boyhan, to whom I always listen very carefully, spoke about family reunification. I listened to what was said in the Dáil and I reduced the time period to two years. One of the factors I have to take into account is what is happening in the UK. We are enormously affected by what is happening with its asylum process. When the numbers in the UK go up, they generally go up in Ireland as well because we have an open border with the UK. I get a considered assessment in this House, but many people ask me what I intend to do to stop people coming in from Northern Ireland and claiming asylum. We can put up checkpoints if we want, but we do not want to do that. We have decided not to do that. There are operations in place by An Garda Síochána under Operation Sonnet. I keep emphasising that people who are entitled to benefit from the common travel area are citizens of Ireland and the UK. If you are a citizen from another country, you are not entitled to travel from Northern Ireland down to the Republic. People may find that harsh, but they are the rules and we need to emphasise them.
Family reunification was suspended in the UK. I have to be conscious of what is happening there. If asylum applicants believe the entitlements or the process are more favourable in Ireland than in the UK, the consequence will be that many applicants from the UK will come to Ireland. I have to be careful about that. There is a touch of forum shopping going on, with people who have claimed asylum in the UK then coming to Ireland to claim asylum here too. I want to reduce the extent to which that is happening. That is part of the reason the family reunification laws are being changed. We are perfectly entitled to do that, by the way, because we did not sign up to the family reunification directive.
I think it is fair that if somebody comes to Ireland, they have to wait for a period of time before they bring their family in with them. By the way, children are treated differently. If you are under 18 years of age and are granted asylum in Ireland, the rules in respect of the two-year wait do not apply. This is only in respect of adults. If you come to Ireland and are granted family reunification, it is only fair that you have to wait for a period of two years until such time as you can establish you have the financial wherewithal to look after the people you are bringing into the country, or members of your family. Otherwise, the State will have to look after them and pay for them. That is where the balance between the asylum applicant's rights and the State comes into play.
I note also the High Court decision referenced by Senator Boyhan. It is a complicated issue. In terms of the reception directive, which is a European law, Ireland is required to provide accommodation, as is every European Union country by the way, including Denmark. We are required to provide accommodation to people who come into Ireland claiming asylum.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-03-18/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:44+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-18