Social AffairsAnalysis

How does Ireland decide what countries are ‘safe’ for asylum seekers?

Why have new countries been added to the State’s safe-countries list and what impact does the list actually have?

People arriving from countries designated as safe must fill out a detailed questionnaire at the International Protection Office on Dublin’s Mount Street on the day they claim asylum. Photograph: Colin Keegan/Collins Dublin

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Sorcha Pollak
Wed Jul 3 2024 - 18:10

Which countries are now designated as “safe” for those seeking asylum in Ireland?

Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Georgia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, South Africa, with the new additions of Brazil, Egypt, India, Malawi and Morocco.

How is a country designated as safe?

To be designated as “safe”, under the State’s International Protection Act 2015, the Minister for Justice must show there is “generally and consistently no persecution, no torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and no threat by reason of indiscriminate violence in situations of international or internal armed conflict”.

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However, civil society groups have expressed concerns that the latest additions to the list are a “misuse” of the Act’s procedure.

How “safe” are Egypt, Malawi and Morocco?

Amnesty International says it is “appalled” by the decision to include Egypt on the list given the country’s “protracted human rights and impunity crisis” where “the use of torture and other ill-treatment and enforced disappearances” are consistently documented. Egyptian authorities are “severely repressing the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly and clamping down on critical voices offline and online”, said the group.

In Malawi, same-sex marriage is a crime punishable by up to 14 years in prison while, in Morocco, the US Department of State has found “numerous credible reports of the use of torture and other such treatment by law enforcement authorities”.

What about India and Brazil?

When we think of Indians in Ireland we tend to assume they work in tech or healthcare, while with Brazilians, the assumption is most are English-language students. This is generally the case, but small numbers do seek asylum. Some Brazilians are “timing out on their work visas” and choose to claim asylum rather than return home, while some Indians seek asylum because of the country’s “appalling record on the rights and safety of women”, said human rights solicitor Gary Daly, who has worked with female Indian clients fleeing sexual violence.

How many asylum seekers have come to Ireland from these countries?

There are 463 Egyptian asylum seekers in State-provided accommodation, up 96 from this time last year. Some 370 Moroccans are also seeking asylum (up 76 on 12 months ago) while the number of Malawians in State accommodation rose by only two compared to June 2023.

Some 200 Indian asylum seekers are also in State accommodation, up from 132 this time last year. There were 65 Brazilians in asylum seeker accommodation 12 months ago. However, Brazilians were not included in the latest Government statistics.

What about Nigeria?

Nigeria is not designated a safe country but asylum applications from Nigerians are fast-tracked because they represent the highest number of people seeking asylum in Ireland. Some 6,255 Nigerians are awaiting a decision on their asylum claim, up from 2,819 this time last year.

Does the “safe country” designation mean a person from these countries cannot apply for international protection?

No. They can still apply for asylum here but their application will be accelerated, and a decision made within 90 days. Arrivals from these countries must fill out a detailed questionnaire at the International Protection Office on Dublin’s Mount Street on the day they claim asylum and are reportedly given an interview date for about three weeks later.

However, filling out the questionnaire straight away “completely cuts off a person’s ability to get legal advice”, said Irish Refugee Council chief executive Nick Henderson. Many asylum-seeking men will also go through the interview process while homeless, he added. Designating a country as safe also “shifts the obligation” to the applicant to prove their country is unsafe, said Daly.

Why have more countries been added to this list?

The Government says the list helps expedite the asylum processing system and ensure those who actually need protection receive it quickly. However, adding more countries to the list also “gives a perception of action and impact” when “the fundamentals of the system are still in a very serious situation”, says Mr Henderson. “There is still huge backlog at the IPO, there are 2,228 people without accommodation and 3-4 km of fencing to prevent people from camping along the canal”.

Listing safe countries is a “gross simplification” of the persecution and violence people suffer and “flies in the face of the 1951 Refugee Convention”, said Mr Daly, adding that it was a “politically based decision.”

Has the addition of new countries to this list created any tangible difference?

The Department of Justice says applications from Algeria and Botswana have fallen by 71 per cent since their designation as “safe” countries in January 2024. However, Mr Henderson says it’s “highly unlikely” people fleeing their home country are paying attention to changes in Ireland’s asylum procedures. An Garda Síochána’s recent crackdown on documentation checks at the steps of aircrafts is more likely to have impacted arrival numbers, he said.

Research in 2022 by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) into Ireland’s rise in international protection applications found “conditions and conflict in countries of origin” were “significant factors” in a person’s decision to seek asylum. It also underlined the increase in numbers was not specific to Ireland, but was unfolding across Europe.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine, post-Covid-19 catch-up migration and the movement of refugees between EU member states also pushed numbers up, said the study.

[ Why many seeking asylum in Ireland may be without a passport ]

[ Migration row: Have we forgotten these are people we’re talking about? ]

What about other European countries, do they have safe-country lists?

More than 22 EU member states have adopted safe-country lists in recent years, although the names on these lists vary widely. Ireland, France, Luxembourg, Malta and Slovakia were among the first to introduce these lists in the mid-2000s

Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia are the top five countries to appear across Europe, while Kosovo and Georgia also regularly appear. Calls for a common EU-wide list have been made but several member states oppose the idea.

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