Republic of Ireland

Country Report

Country Report: Republic of Ireland Last updated: 25/05/23

Author

Irish Refugee Council Visit Website

The first edition of this report was written by Sharon Waters, Communications and Public Affairs Officer with the Irish Refugee Council and was edited by ECRE. The first and second updates of this report were written by Nick Henderson, Legal Officer at the Irish Refugee Council Independent Law Centre. The third and fourth updates were written by Maria Hennessy, Legal Officer at the Irish Refugee Council Independent Law Centre. The 2017 update was written by Luke Hamilton, Legal Officer with the Irish Refugee Council Independent Law Centre. The 2018 and 2019 updates were written by Luke Hamilton, Legal Officer with the Irish Refugee Council Independent Law Centre and Rosemary Hennigan, Policy and Advocacy Officer with the Irish Refugee Council. The 2020 update was written by Nick Henderson and Brian Collins, with the assistance of Carmen del Prado. The 2021, 2022 and 2023 updates were written by Hayley Dowling, Caseworker at the Irish Refugee Council Information and Advocacy Service with support from Nick Henderson, Chief Executive of the Irish Refugee Council.

This report draws on information obtained through a mixture of desk-based research and direct correspondence with relevant agencies, and information obtained through the Irish Refugee Council’s own casework and policy work. Of particular relevance throughout were the latest up-to-date statistics from the International Protection Office (IPO) and the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS), including their annual and monthly reports; data from the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT); as well as various reports and statements from stakeholders such as the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, UNHCR Ireland and NGOs working on the ground with refugees and asylum seekers. The Irish Refugee Council is grateful to all colleagues for their assistance in obtaining information used to compile this report.

The information in this report is up-to-date as of 31 December 2022 unless otherwise stated.

Table of contents

  • Statistics
  • Overview of the legal framework
  • Overview of the main changes since the previous report update
  • Asylum Procedure
  • Reception Conditions
  • Detention of Asylum Seekers
  • Content of International Protection
  • ANNEX – Transposition of the CEAS in national legislation