Fast-track asylum process aims to cut years-long wait times, says Minister

Vivienne Clarke

Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan has said that the new legislation in relation to asylum claims is an effort to strike a balance between the rights of asylum seekers and the overall well-being of the country.

"I have to strike a fair balance between, on the one hand, the applicant's interest in being reunited with his or her family, but also on the other hand with the interest of the community as a whole to control immigration with a view to protecting the economic well-being of the country, to ensuring effective integration of those granted protection and to preserving social cohesion,” O’Callaghan told RTÉ Radio’s News at One.

"We're going to have a series of procedures under the new legislation, and one of the procedures will be the accelerated examination procedure, and the other will be the asylum border procedure.

Mr O'Callaghan said the procedures will cover the majority of asylum applications. There will be a legal requirement that there must be a first-instance decision by my officials within three months.

“In the legislation, there will also be a requirement that if there's an appeal from that decision, that appeal must be concluded and determined within three months.

"So in respect of both of them, the purpose of the legislation is to ensure that individuals coming to Ireland claiming asylum, that they will get an answer to their asylum application within a specified period in law of six months.

"I think that makes the system more efficient, it will make the system fairer, not just for the asylum applicant, but indeed for the Irish public," he said.

Mr Callaghan said it is important to ensure that if people are looking for an asylum application in Ireland, they get a decision promptly, and said: "One of the characteristics of the asylum system in Ireland historically is that people have come here, made asylum applications and they can be waiting two to three to four years for a determination of their application.

"I think it’s much fairer for them and indeed for the general public if we can get a prompt determination of their application so that if they're refused, they can get on with their lives, if they are granted asylum, they can incorporate into Irish society.

“The reason why I'm introducing that is I've no desire to be cruel to anyone, but when it comes to family reunification. I have to strike a fair balance between, on the one hand, the applicant's interest in being reunited with his or her family, but also on the other hand with the interest of the community as a whole to control immigration with a view to protecting the economic well-being of the country."

He said those are not his words but of the European Court of Human Rights in the BF v Switzerland case from 2023.