Five more countries to be added to ‘safe countries’ list

By Cate McCurry, PA

A further five countries are to be added to Ireland’s “safe countries” list under plans that will be considered by the Government.

The plan is to be brought forward by the Minister for Justice Helen McEntee.

International protection applications from these countries, which have not been named, will be accelerated from Wednesday following an “extensive review” by the department.

Applications from these countries will now be expedited, and will be processed more quickly than those from other countries.

There are currently ten countries that are designated as safe countries of origin.

These include Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Georgia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and South Africa.

The introduction of accelerated processing has had a significant impact on the number of applications from those countries, which have dropped by over 50% since these procedures were introduced in November 2022.

Since Botswana and Algeria were added to the list by the minister earlier this year, applications from those countries fell by 71 per cent and applications have fallen by 65 per cent from Nigerian applicants since the country with the most applicants was accelerated.

The designation of a state as a safe country of origin does not mean that a claim is inadmissible or that a person forfeits the right to make an application, however it places the onus on the applicant to demonstrate why, and by way of exception, they are in need of protection.

Ms McEntee intends to continue to review what additional safe countries can be designated safe, or if further categories can be accelerated.