Author
Overview of statistical practice
Since January 2017, the International Protection Office (IPO) has been responsible for receiving and examining applications. The IPO publishes brief monthly statistical reports on international protection applications.[1] The Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) (formerly Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS)) is part of the Department of Justice and Equality and provides data about asylum and managed migration in Ireland to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. This data is published on the EU open data portal along with data from other European countries.[2]
Applications and granting of protection status at first instance: figures for 2025
| Applicants in 2025 (1) | Pending at
end of 2025 |
Total decisions in 2025 (2) | Total rejection (3) | In merit rejection | Refugee status | Subsidiary protection | Humanitarian protection (4) | |
| Total | 13,159 | 15,315 | 19,558 | 15,807 | 15,411 | 3,084 | 397 | 270 |
| Somalia | 2, 021 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Nigeria | 1, 940 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Pakistan | 1, 680 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Afghanistan | 1, 290 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Georgia | 925 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Vietnam | 679 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Bangladesh | 662 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Ukraine | 312 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Zimbabwe | 224 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Sudan | 202 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Source: International Protection Office, March 2026.
Note 1: “Applicants in year” refers to the total number of applicants, and not only to first-time applicants.
Note 2: Statistics on decisions cover the decisions taken throughout the year, regardless of whether they concern applications lodged that year or in previous years.
Note 3: ‘Total rejection’ refers to rejections on merits as well as applications deemed ‘inadmissible.’
Note 4: ‘Humanitarian protection’ refers to humanitarian leave to remain, ‘Leave to remain’ in the national context takes account of criteria such as humanitarian considerations and/or the person’s connections to the State, to determine whether there are compelling reasons to allow the person permission to remain in Ireland. This assessment is conducted in the event that both a claim for refugee and subsidiary protection are ultimately refused. See National forms of protection.
Applications and granting of protection status at first instance: rates for 2025
| Overall rejection rate (1) | In merit rejection rate | Overall protection rate (2) | Refugee rate | Subsidiary
protection rate |
Humanitarian
protection rate (3) |
|
| Total | 80.82% | 78.79% | 17.80% | 15.77% | 2.03% | 1.38% |
Note 1: Refers to applications rejected on merits and applications rejected as inadmissible.
Note 2: Includes both refugee status and subsidiary protection status. Humanitarian protection or ‘leave to remain’ is not considered a protection status in the national context.
Note 3: ‘Humanitarian protection’ refers to humanitarian leave to remain, ‘Leave to remain’ in the national context takes account of criteria such as humanitarian considerations and/or the person’s connections to the State, to determine whether there are compelling reasons to allow the person permission to remain in Ireland. This assessment is conducted in the event that both a claim for refugee and subsidiary protection are ultimately refused.
Source: International Protection Office, March 2026
Gender/age breakdown of the total number of applicants: 2025
| Adults | Children | ||
| Accompanied | Unaccompanied | ||
| Number | 10,151 | 2,787 | 221 |
| Percentage | 78% | 22% | 2% |
| Men | Women | Not specified | |
| Number | 8,942 | 4,186 | 31 |
| Percentage | 68% | 32% | 1% |
Source: International Protection Office, March 2026.
First instance and appeal decision rates: 2025
It should be noted that, during the same year, the first instance and appeal authorities handle different caseloads. Thus, the decisions below do not concern the same applicants.
| First instance | Appeal | |||
| Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | |
| Total number of decisions | 19,558 | – | 5,548 | – |
| Positive decisions | 3,751 | 19.18% | 1,274 | 23% |
|
3,084 | 15.77% | 1,156 | 21% |
|
397 | 2.03% | 118 | 3% |
|
270 | 1.58% | – | – |
| Negative decisions | 15,807 | 80.82% | 4,106 | 74% |
Source: International Protection Office, March 2026.
International Protection Appeals Tribunal, February 2026.