Five new countries are to be added to Ireland’s international protection ‘safe’ list.
The change will see asylum seekers arriving from any of the five countries facing accelerated application procedures.
The Government defines a ‘safe’ country as one where there is generally no persecution, torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
People arriving from the countries are also not viewed as being under threat by reason of indiscriminate violence in situations of international or internal armed conflict.
People from these countries still have the right to apply for protection in Ireland; however, they must be able to prove that their country is not safe for them due to their own personal circumstances.
There are currently 10 countries on Ireland’s safe list:
- Algeria
- Albania
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Botswana
- Georgia
- Kosovo
- Macedonia
- Montenegro
- Serbia
- South Africa
Justice Minister Helen McEntee will tomorrow inform Cabinet of her plan to add five more countries to that list.
Should she get Cabinet approval for the plan, asylum seekers arriving from those countries will see their applications accelerated immediately.
Details of which five countries are being added have yet to be revealed.
The Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, 21-04-2022. Image: Leah Farrell/RollingNewsThe new accelerated procedures for safe countries were introduced in 2022.
The Government has said there has been a 50% drop in applications from the countries on the list in the years since.
Since Algeria and Botswana were added earlier this year, the Government has recorded a 71% drop in applications from there.
A spokesperson said Minister McEntee will continue to review which countries can be designated safe and investigate whether more countries should be added.
Reporting from Eamonn Torsney and Michael Staines
