It comes ahead of the introduction of the EU Migration and Asylum Pact across the bloc from June. Last April, Mr O’Callaghan got Cabinet approval for the drafting of the International Protection Bill 2025. This outlined time limits for how quickly different international protection applications would be assessed. The EU Migration Pact will come into effect across member states from June and will tighten immigration rules across the bloc. It aims to improve burden-sharing of asylum applications across the EU, due to some member states receiving a disproportionate number of asylum seekers.

Source: Irish Examiner January 12, 2026 10:44 UTC