Helen McEntee confirms names of five new ‘safe’ countries as part of asylum seeker plan

The five new ‘safe’ countries being designated by the Minister for Justice are Brazil, Egypt, India, Malawi and Morocco.

The status means they are not states in turmoil from which asylum can be lawfully reclaimed in Ireland.

The addition of the quintet means no human rights or persecution argument can be offered in Ireland against repatriation, and persons coming here from those countries can be returned there.

Currently ten countries are designated as safe states of origin. They are: Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Georgia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and South Africa.

Further designations are expected from Government as soon as practically possible and it is believed the list will eventually run into scores of the world’s 200-plus sovereign states.

Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, will ask Government to note her plans. International protection applications from the further five countries will be accelerated from Wednesday, a source said.

This means an inescapable escalation in the number of deportation orders against persons who enter this country against the rules.

The introduction of accelerated processing has already had a significant impact on the number of applications from the countries designated as safe.

These have dropped by more than half since the designation procedures were introduced in November 2022.

After Botswana and Algeria were added by Minister McEntee in January this year, applications from those countries fell by 71pc — meaning only three arrivals, where previously there had been ten.

Applications have fallen by nearly half from Nigerian — 47pc — meaning only one arrives where previously there had been two. It had been a the country with the most applicants, but numbers crashed when designation came with accelerated processing.

The designation of a state as a safe country of origin does not mean that a claim is inadmissible or that a person forfeits the right to make an application.

But it does place the onus on the applicant to demonstrate why, and by way of exception, they are in need of protection.

Minister McEntee says she intends to continue to review what additional countries can be designated safe, or if further categories can be accelerated.

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