The Government aims to speed up checks on asylum seekers arriving in Ireland from so-called 'safe' countries.
Just over 4,500 asylum seekers arrived in Ireland from countries that are on the Government’s list of ‘safe countries of origin’.
When a country is declared safe for asylum purposes, it means the Government has declared that there is generally no persecution, no torture or inhuman or degrading treatment, or no threat of violence from an armed conflict in that country.
People from these countries still have the right to apply for protection in Ireland; however, they must be able to prove that their country is not safe for them in terms of their own personal circumstances.
There are currently eight countries on the list.
- Albania
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- North Macedonia
- Georgia
- Kosovo
- Montenegro
- Serbia
- South Africa
Just over 4,500 asylum seekers arrived in Ireland from four of these countries last year – some 34% of the total that arrived.
Some 3,148 people arrived from Georgia, 865 arrive from South Africa, 530 arrived from Albania and 38 arrived from Kosovo.
Currently, it takes around 18 months for an asylum application to be processed.
However, under a new system that was announced back in November, all asylum seekers arriving from ‘safe’ countries will receive their international application interview date on the same day they apply.
The Department of Justice now hopes to process these applications in a matter of months.
All applicants under these new procedures will still have the right to appeal if they are rejected.
