Number of staff and nature of the first instance authority

Author

Irish Refugee Council Visit Website

The International Protection Office (IPO) is the body responsible for registering asylum applications and making the first instance decisions.

The IPO’s role involves making recommendations to the Minister for Justice on an applicant’s eligibility for refugee status, subsidiary protection and permission to remain under the single procedure. This system replaces the previous multi-layered process overseen by ORAC that was fraught with administrative delays and backlogs.

At the end of 2020, the IPO was composed of a total of 148.1 staff members. Of the 148.1 staff, there were 27.6 staff directly involved in making first instance determinations on applications for international protection at year end.[2] Data for 2021 was not available at the time of updating. At the end of 2022, the IPO was composed of a total of 201.1 staff members (full-time equivalents). Out of the 201.1 staff members, a total of 40 individuals were involved in the decision-making process.[3]

Quality assurance and control

While the authors are not aware of any specific quality assurance or control mechanisms in place within the IPO, the UNHCR, in line with its advisory role, states that it regularly works in conjunction with the IPO with a view to improving the quality of decision making. This work includes the development and delivery of training, and the review of decisions and other support initiatives and draws on the best practice developed by the UNHCR through activities implemented in other EU Member States and internationally.[4]

[1] International Protection Office, March 2023.

[2] Information provided by the International Protection Office, April 2021.

[3] International Protection Office, March 2023.  

[4] UNHCR, Ireland Fact Sheet – January – December 2019, available at: https://bit.ly/3naOy4N.