International Protection
Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-26
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Niall Collins (FF), Limerick County

As the Senator will be aware, Ireland has opted in to the EU asylum and migration pact, which will come into effect in June of this year. The pact will provide a fair, sustainable and efficient asylum procedure. This will be achieved through convergence in asylum practices across the European Union and through the introduction of streamlined and faster processing times. As part of efforts to improve efficiencies in the processing of applications, applications have been processed at both the IPO offices in Mount Street and at the Citywest reception centre for some time now.
On 1 July 2025, the Department introduced the first phase of a gradual transition to a new accelerated end-to-end process for applicants entering the international protection system in Ireland. This new accelerated process mirrors elements of the future broader procedure and screening required by the EU pact on migration and asylum, while still adhering to the International Protection Act 2015. We will continue to improve the efficiencies and the transparencies where possible in relation to the international protection process.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-03-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:47+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-26