Author
Cessation is permitted under Irish law but it is not often applied in practice so limited information is available on it in Ireland.
The IPA provides for cessation of refugee status and subsidiary protection under Section 9 and 11 of the Act respectively. A person ceases to be a refugee if he or she:
- has voluntarily re-availed himself or herself of the protection of the country of nationality;
- having lost his or her nationality, has voluntarily re-acquired it;
- has acquired a new nationality (other than as an Irish citizen), and enjoys the protection of the country of his or her new nationality;
- has voluntarily re-established himself or herself in the country which he or she left or outside which he or she remained owing to fear of persecution;
- can no longer, because the circumstances in connection with which he or she has been recognised as a refugee have ceased to exist, continue to refuse to avail himself or herself of the protection of his or her country of nationality / country of former habitual residence if stateless. There is an exception to (e) in that it shall not apply if the person is able to invoke compelling reasons arising out of past persecution for refusing to avail of protection in his or her country of nationality.
Cessation of subsidiary protection occurs when the circumstances which led to a person’s eligibility for subsidiary protection have ceased to exist or have changed to such a degree that international protection is no longer required. An exception to this is if there are compelling reasons arising out of past persecution for refusing to avail of protection in the applicant’s country of nationality. No information is available on the amount of decisions relating to cessation in 2018 or 2019. According to data released by the Department of Justice, there have been no decisions relating to cessation of refugee or subsidiary protection status in 2020.[1] There were no cessations of refugee status and subsidiary protection status under sections 9 and 11 of the International Protection Act 2015 in 2021. There was one person excluded from refugee protection and subsidiary protection pursuant to sections 10 and 12 of the International Protection Act 2015 in 2021.[2] Statistics provided by the International Protection Office indicate that less than 5 decisions were made in relation to cessation of and exclusion from refugee or subsidiary protection status throughout 2022, however, an exact figure was not provided.[3]
The IPA indicates the procedure for cessation under the procedure of revocation under Section 52. According to Section 52(4), the Minister shall send a notice in writing of the proposal to revoke and of the reasons for it to the applicant, including information regarding the person’s entitlement to make written representations to the Minister in relation to the notice within 15 working days. Where a declaration that the person’s status be revoked is made, the individual may appeal to the Circuit Court, which may then either affirm the revocation or direct the Minister to withdraw it. There is no legislative provision for an oral hearing as part of this procedure.
[1] Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, Reply to Parliamentary Question No. 693, 3 March 2021, available at: https://bit.ly/3t25jB1.
[2] Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, Reply to Parliamentary Question No. 565, 15 February 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3BYsCkM.
[3] International Protection Office, March 2023.