New fast-track claims process rejects nine out of 10 asylum seekers

Michael McAleer

A new fast-track procedure for asylum seekers has seen nine in 10 claims rejected.

The system requires rulings to be made within a 12-week window for those applying from a "safe" country or where an earlier request has been made in another EU country.

The fast-track process, known as the accelerated procedure, requires countries to deport or remove failed applicants within a further three months.

In a quarter of cases, deportation orders were issued, and so far, 84 people have been deported or voluntarily left the State, according to The Irish Times.

The new statistics are drawn from 2,272 claims for international protection.

In one case, the time between a person requesting asylum in the Republic and an order being signed to deport them was as little as 47 days.

In comparison, some 71 per cent of asylum claims were initially rejected in 2024, though that figure includes all cases, not only the category of case that would be dealt with under the new fast-track process.

Countries of origin deemed “safe” include Georgia, Malawi, Algeria, Bangladesh, South Africa, Egypt, India and much of the western Balkans.

A large increase in people seeking international protection from 2022 put serious strain on the State’s asylum system. Applications hit a high point of 18,500 in 2024, before falling by a third last year, a downward trend that has continued.

The new EU rules, which the Government opted into, fully entered into force on June 12th. People from countries with low rates of success claiming asylum, or who destroyed documents they used to travel to the Republic, will be accommodated in Citywest, the former hotel the State has turned into a large asylum centre.

That group will face “restrictions of freedom of movement” and be required to report to authorities daily, according to internal department correspondence released to The Irish Times under the Freedom of Information Act.