Faster processing times are being introduced for international protection applicants from Jordan as and from Monday under plans announced by Minister for Justice Helen McEntee.
Some 881 people from Jordan sought asylum in Ireland in the second quarter of 2024, with people from the Middle Eastern state representing the second-highest volume of applications from any origin country in that period.
The move follows a similar measure introduced to accelerate the processing of applicants from Nigeria. It comes as the Government continues efforts to get to grips with the refugee accommodation crisis.
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The State has not been able to accommodate all single adult male asylum seekers since December, with more than 2,400 awaiting an offer of a place to stay as of Friday last.
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An accelerated system for processing international protection applications from so-called safe countries was introduced in November 2022, with decisions on these to be made within three months.
There are 15 “safe” countries of origin on the current list.
In April, Ms McEntee added Nigeria to the list to be accelerated, despite it not being classified as a safe country of origin.
Jordan, which has been the source of 1,037 international protection applicants in the same period, is also not included on the list of safe countries.
Ms McEntee said there has been a 53 per cent drop in applications from people from Nigeria since applicants from the West African country were included among those that get accelerated processing.
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Accelerated processing now applies to the top-two countries of origin; applicants who have received protection elsewhere in Europe; and the 15 countries on the “safe” list.
The 15 “safe countries of origin” are currently: Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Egypt, Georgia, India, Kosovo, Malawi, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Morocco, Serbia and South Africa.
The Department of Justice said there had been a drop of up to 70 per cent in applications from the designated safe countries following the introduction of accelerated procedures. The list of safe countries is kept under review.
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