From today, the International Protection Office (IPO) will prioritise and accelerate applicants from the country of origin with the highest number of applications in the previous three months, in addition to those currently prioritised and accelerated under the safe country of origin list.

The measure is intended to speed up international protection application processing times, and follows the introduction in November 2022 of an accelerated decision-making process under which applications from safe countries are now receiving decisions in less than three months.

The current designated safe countries are Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Georgia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and South Africa.

Justice minister Helen McEntee said: “The best way to ensure the integrity of our immigration system is to ensure efficient processing of international protection applications — that gives protection really quickly to those who need it, while also demonstrating to applicants who don’t need it that there is nothing to gain from going down the asylum route.

“Since the introduction of the safe country procedures we have seen a 50 per cent reduction in applications from countries designated as ‘safe’. It is clear evidence that people who are not in need or protection but who are perhaps coming here for economic reasons, are seeing that risking a refusal and deportation order, is not worth it.”

There were 1,669 applications for international protection from applicants from Nigeria in the first quarter of 2024, representing 32 per cent of all applications made in that period. Applicants from Nigeria will now be processed on an accelerated basis for at least the next three months.

Mrs McEntee said: “This decision is not about prioritising any particular named country. If the top country in terms of applications changes in the next three months, the prioritisation and acceleration of processing will switch to that nationality.

“The next assessment is expected to take place in July 2024. It will determine which country of origin represents the highest number of applications in the April-June 2024 period. Applicants from this country will then be subject to the accelerated process.”