Jim O'Callaghan

Justice minister Jim O’Callaghan today announced he will submit Ireland’s national implementation plan for the controversial EU Asylum and Migration Pact to the European Commission.

It outlines plans for significant reform of Ireland’s asylum laws through new legislation, processes, technology and structures.

The transition plan will ensure readiness for when the EU Migration and Asylum Pact comes into effect in June 2026.

The EU says the Pact aims to provide a fair, sustainable and efficient asylum procedure through stronger governance of asylum and migration policies and through convergence in asylum practices across the EU.

However, it has been criticised by human rights campaigners who say it will water down protections for vulnerable people fleeing war and persecution.

Mr O’Callaghan said: “I am bringing forward this national implementation plan which will ultimately result in the most significant reform of Irish asylum laws in decades.

“The Pact represents a new approach on migration both here and across the EU. The national implementation plan approved by Cabinet today is the blueprint for how we will implement the Pact here in Ireland.

“The current system is not working effectively, with decisions taking far too long. We need to ensure that applications are processed in a swift fashion.

“There will be a mandatory 12-week time limit under the new border procedure mechanism.

“This provides for completed first instance and appeal decisions for those applicants from countries of origin with an application success rate of 20 per cent or less across the EU, those who have no documents or false documents and those who are deemed a security risk.

“This provision will go a long way in making our immigration laws more robust in the future.”

He continued: “The Pact national implementation plan sets out how Ireland will transition away from the current complex asylum system towards a future streamlined model which aims to be a structural and permanent solution to the challenges of managing migration.

“It is a critical next step towards my goal of implementing a firmer and more robust migration system here in Ireland.”

Colm Brophy, minister of state for migration, added: “We are not waiting for June 2026 to make changes to our systems.

“Recent modernisation initiatives in the international protection system, enabled by significant government investment are showing significant results. In 2024 the International Protection Office (IPO) delivered over 14,000 first-decisions.

“There has also been a significant reduction in the number of applications received from those subject to accelerated processing.

“The Pact will provide a rights-based, digital-first asylum service that is transparent, efficient and fair and is aligned with other member states.”