Author
In the experience of the Irish Refugee Council, a person who arrives in Ireland seeking entry may be refused leave to land and, due to the lack of independent oversight and transparency at airports or ports of entry, it cannot be verified whether there are cases in which the person refused leave to land had protection grounds or had intended to apply for asylum. The Border Management Unit, in response, states:
At a port of entry, if a person indicates or is identified as being in need of international protection they are admitted to the international protection process. However, they will still be recorded as a refusal of leave to land.[1]
There is currently no access for independent authorities or NGOs at air or land borders in order to monitor the situation, nor do there appear to be any plans to allow such access in the future under revised International Protection legislation following the introduction of the Pact.
In October 2022, it was reported that a unit was to be established at Dublin Airport in order to facilitate stricter immigration checks in respect of arriving passengers. The establishment of the unit was reported to be part of a range of measures introduced by Government with a view to reducing the number of individuals claiming international protection in Ireland.[2]
Starting from autumn 2022, additional immigration control measures had increased at Dublin Airport, targeting in particular individuals seeking to disembark from arriving aircraft with false documentation.[3]
Throughout 2024, it was evident that these practices had expanded considerably, with an increase in reports of arrests and subsequent convictions for failure to produce a valid travel document upon request.[4] In response to a Parliamentary Question in November 2024, the Department of Justice stated that as of the 30th of September 2024, there had been 132 charges made in respect of s.11 of the Immigration Act 2001 and 141 charges in respect of s.12 of the Immigration Act 2004.[5] There were also increased immigration checks at the border with Northern Ireland. In May 2024, it was announced that during a garda operation spanning a four-day period, 50 persons attempting to enter Ireland from the UK without the requisite visa or travel documentation were prevented from entering.[6]
In November 2025, in response to a Parliamentary Question in relation to doorstop operations occurring at arriving aircraft in Dublin Airport, the Minister for Justice indicated that the Border Management Unit, in conjunction with An Garda Síochána have an ongoing intelligence-led programme of operations at airplanes to detect passengers who destroy documents inflight and to identify the point of embarkation of undocumented passengers. According to available statistics, 5,125 such operations took place at Dublin Airport up to the 31st of October 2025.[7]
As of the 31st October 2025, 4,038 persons had been refused leave to land at Dublin Airport. The nationalities of those refused leave to land for 2025 were not available as of January 2026.[8]
The Irish Refugee Council has previously raised concerns in relation to the increasing number of individuals being refused leave to land from active zones of conflict that are demonstrably unsafe and has urged the government to show proactivity in ensuring effective access to the asylum procedure.[9]
Section 78 IPA amends Section 5 of the Immigration Act 2004 in a way which allows for people to be detained for short periods of time in facilities at ports of entry and/or airports instead of being placed in custody in police stations (see Detention of Asylum Applicants).
In December 2021, according to a statement made by the Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, the dedicated immigration facility at Dublin Airport was opened for use in circumstances where an individual is refused leave to land at the air border. The facility houses the newly opened Dublin Airport Garda Station and the Garda National Immigration Bureau. The Garda Station contains four single person cells and two additional detention rooms. The facility was reported to be fully operational as of March 2022.[10] However, it is not known whether immigration detainees are advised and facilitated in seeking legal advice from detention.
Border monitoring
There is currently no access for independent authorities or NGOs at air or land borders in order to monitor the situation, nor do there appear to be any plans to allow such access in the future.
Legal access to the territory
Under Irish law, there is no general procedure under which an applicant can apply for a humanitarian visa with the intention to apply for international protection on arrival in the State. However, in September 2015, the Irish Government established the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP). Under the second phase of IRPP (IRPP II), established in 2019, it was planned that 2,900 Syrian refugees located in Jordan and Lebanon would be resettled in the State through a combination of resettlement and community sponsorship initiatives.[11] However, the State experienced significant challenges in meeting this target, due in part to the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the issuing of humanitarian visas to Afghan nationals following the crisis of September 2021.[12] As a result, a total of just 448 resettled refugees arrived in the State between 2020 and 2022.[13] This is in addition to a further 564 humanitarian visas issued to Afghan nationals, bringing the total number of resettlements made under IRPP to 1012 in the years 2020 to 2022.[14] According to available statistics, in 2024, 199 Syrian nationals and 77 Afghan nationals were resettled. As of May 2025, a further 83 Syrian nationals and 6 Afghan nationals had been resettled under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme.[15]
Applicants arriving under resettlement receive programme refugee status.
Ireland’s pledge for resettlement and humanitarian admissions, along with forecasted resettlement numbers for 2024-2025 was submitted to the European Commission on the 7th of October 2023. Ireland has pledged to support the arrival of 1,200 refugees under the UNHCR resettlement process from Lebanon and Jordan, with a further 100 humanitarian admissions from Afghanistan.[16] Under the Union Resettlement and Humanitarian Admission Plan (2026-2027), Ireland pledged to resettle 1,200 people and grant humanitarian admission to a further 100 people.[17]
See also sections on: Family reunification; Afghan Admissions Programme; Irish Humanitarian Admissions Programme and Community Sponsorship.
[1] Border Management Unit, Right to Reply, May 2025.
[2] Irish Examiner, ‘Stricter asylum checks, more deportations, and more basic shelter in bid to control migration’, 24 October 2022, available here.
[3] Dublin Inquirer, ‘The Government says it’s bringing back stricter asylum checks, but what does that mean?’, 2 November 2022, available here.
[4] Information provided by Irish Refugee Council Information and Advocacy Service, December 2024.
[5] Minister for Justice, Response to Parliamentary Question No 759, 5 November 2024, available here.
[6] The Journal, ‘Taoiseach ‘encouraged’ after gardaí prevent 50 people entering Ireland from the UK with incorrect documents’, 26 May 2024, available here.
[7] Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Response to Parliamentary Question No. 147, 5 November 2025, available here.
[8] ibid.
[9] Irish Times, Rise in people from war torn countries refused entry to the State, 2 August 2021, available here.
[10] Department of Justice, Minister McEntee attends Official Opening of Dublin Airport Garda Station, 6 May 2022, available here.
[11] Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Irish Refugee Protection Programme, 29 January 2021, updated 10 February 2023, available here.
[12] ibid.
[13] Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Response to Parliamentary Question No. 1324, 18 April 2023, available here.
[14] ibid.
[15] Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Response to Parliamentary Question No. 708, 20 May 2025, available here.
[16] European Commission, ‘Pledges submitted by the Member States for 2024-2025’, December 2023, available here.
[17] Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/2628 of 18 December 2025 on the Union Resettlement and Humanitarian Admission Plan (2026-2027), 22 December 2025, available here.