EU agency’s staff to help with asylum appeals
Up to 30 staff from the EU Asylum Agency (EUAA) are to be used to help the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) with its increasing caseload.
IPAT, which hears appeals lodged against first-instance decisions on asylum, had 15,929 cases pending appeal at the end of September this year.
Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan said that an agreement signed with the EUAA would help to speed up the timeframe for decisions in the tribunal.
Preparing files
The EUAA staff will help with preparing appeal files, conducting research on country-of-origin information and international-protection jurisprudence, and providing interpretation in difficult-to-source languages.
The agreement will be valid until 31 December 2026.
The Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration says that it will IPAT to make the best use of its resources while introducing new structures and processes required under the EU’s Migration and Asylum Pact.
Under EU rules, member states can ask for operational support from the agency when their asylum or reception systems come under pressure.