The International Protection Office (IPO) is currently grappling with a growing backlog of asylum applications, with more than 23,000 cases still pending. This marks a considerable surge in applications and subsequent appeals from asylum applicants. A July review, conducted by the Department of Justice, reveals a jump in the number of rejected asylum applications too; 608 within that month alone.
According to recent data, the IPO’s pending applications have escalated to 23,360 from 16,566 as at last September. Similarly, pending applications lodged in the International Protection Appeals Tribunal over the past year have seen a consistent upward trend. Fast forward to July 2024, the backlog stands at 6,257 cases, a leap from slightly under 2,000 during the same period in the previous year.
The primary sources of arrivals into the country remain Nigeria, Jordan, Pakistan, Somalia and Palestine.
The report provides insights into the processing times for asylum applications. Instead of using average, the Government currently utilises median to measure processing durations. This middle figure in the range of processing times, as explained by the Department of Justice, gives a more accurate portrayal of processing times as it isn’t unduly impacted by a few cases with lengthy processing times, which would skew the average.
The median duration to secure a first interview for all applications had seen a gradual drop in 2024, however, it spiked to 68 weeks for standard cases in July, a noticeable increase from the 55.5 weeks reported in June and 63 weeks in May.
The median weeks taken for a final decision in standard cases was 79 weeks, holding steady from the prior month, and representing a drop from 83 weeks in May.
The International Protection Office is currently focusing its efforts on the top two nations contributing the most applicants in the past quarter. There is a swift processing procedure in place for arrivals from these nations. The Justice Department’s data shows that in July, the preliminary interview for these expedited cases typically took two weeks. The median time taken to come to a determination increased to 11 weeks in July, a rise from the seven-week period in June, but consistent with May’s duration.
Decisions were made on several applications, among which 395 applicants received refugee status. Also, there were 608 rejections and a further 211 reviews into permission-to-stay decisions.
In July’s broad scope, refusals made up 54 per cent of decisions, permission to stay represented 5 per cent and international protection grants comprised 41 per cent.
The quantity of deportation orders signed was 204 last month, with 238 orders actually being issued. In contrast, the number of individuals deported in July was much lower at 67.