Asylum applications fell by a third last year after record high in 2024
David Forsythe
The number of people seeking international protection in Ireland fell by almost a third last year after reaching a record high in 2024, according to figures released by the Department of Justice.
New figures provided by Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan show that 13,146 international protection applications were made in 2025, down from 18,553 in 2024.
The figures were released in response to a parliamentary question from Fianna Fáil TD Tom Brabazon, who sought details of asylum applications and decisions made since 2020.
Despite the fall last year, application numbers remain far higher than they were before 2022.
Just 1,565 applications were recorded in 2020, rising to 2,647 in 2021 before surging to 13,642 in 2022. A further 13,271 applications were made in 2023 before numbers peaked in 2024.
O'Callaghan said application numbers had been rising steadily over recent years before falling by approximately one-third in 2025.
The minister said the Government had significantly increased investment in the international protection system in an effort to improve processing times and increase the number of decisions being made.
The figures also show a sharp increase in the number of first-instance decisions issued by the International Protection Office. A total of 20,177 first-instance decisions were made in 2025, compared with 13,916 the previous year and 8,793 in 2023.
Of the decisions made last year, 3,743 applicants were granted refugee status, subsidiary protection or permission to remain, representing 18.55 per cent of all first-instance decisions.
The remaining 16,434 cases were refused, withdrawn, found inadmissible or deemed dormant.
The proportion of applicants receiving a positive first-instance decision has fallen significantly in recent years.
In 2022, almost 72 per cent of first-instance decisions resulted in a grant of protection or permission to remain. That figure fell to 36.8 per cent in 2023, 28.1 per cent in 2024 and 18.6 per cent in 2025.
Meanwhile, the proportion of cases resulting in refusal, withdrawal, inadmissibility findings or dormant status rose from 28.1 per cent in 2022 to more than 81 per cent last year.
O'Callaghan said the International Protection Act 2026 came into effect on June 12 and gives effect to the EU Migration and Asylum Pact.
He said the new legislation is intended to create a more efficient and consistent asylum system across the European Union, including standardised processing times of six months for standard applications, three months for accelerated and border procedures and two months for applicants who have previously sought protection elsewhere in Europe.
“I am fully committed to ensuring that Ireland’s International Protection system is robust, and rules based, and that our borders are protected,” the minister said. Figures for 2026 were not available at the time of the parliamentary reply.
