An Act to provide for the entry into, and presence in, the State of persons seeking international protection, while having regard also to the power of the Executive in relation to these matters; to give effect to Directive (EU) 2024/1346 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 laying down standards for the reception of applicants for international protection (recast); to give further effect to Regulation (EU) 2024/1347 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 on standards for the qualification of third-country nationals or stateless persons as beneficiaries of international protection, for a uniform status for refugees or for persons eligible for subsidiary protection and for the content of the protection granted; to give further effect to Regulation (EU) 2024/1348 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 establishing a common procedure for international protection in the Union and repealing Directive 2013/32/EU; to give further effect to Regulation (EU) 2024/1350 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 establishing a Union Resettlement and Humanitarian Admission Framework, and amending Regulation (EU) 2021/1147; to give further effect to Council Directive 2001/55/EC of 20 July 2001 on minimum standards for giving temporary protection in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons and on measures promoting a balance of efforts between Member States in receiving such persons and bearing the consequences thereof; to give further effect to Regulation (EU) 2024/1351 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 on asylum and migration management; to give further effect to Regulation (EU) 2024/1358 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 on the establishment of ‘Eurodac’ for the comparison of biometric data in order to effectively apply Regulations (EU) 2024/1351 and (EU) 2024/1350 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Directive 2001/55/EC and to identify illegally staying third country nationals and stateless persons and on requests for the comparison with Eurodac data by Member States’ law enforcement authorities and Europol for law enforcement purposes; to give further effect to Regulation (EU) 2024/1359 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 addressing situations of crisis and force majeure in the field of migration and asylum and amending Regulation (EU) 2021/1147; to give further effect to the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees done at Geneva on the 28th day of July 1951 and the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees done at New York on the 31st day of January 1967; to provide for the gathering of information from applicants for international protection; to provide for permission to enter and reside for family members of beneficiaries of international protection; to provide for the removal from the State of certain persons; to provide for the establishment of a body to be known as An Binse um Achomhairc i dtaobh Tearmainn agus Filleadh or, in the English language, as the Tribunal for Asylum and Returns Appeals and to provide for its functions; to provide for the establishment of a body to be known as Oifig an Phríomh Chigire Nósanna Imeachta Teorann um Thearmann or, in the English language, as the Office of the Chief Inspector of Asylum Border Procedures and to provide for its functions; to amend, or repeal certain provisions of, the International Protection Act 2015; to amend the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, the Child Care Act 1991, the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995, the Immigration Act 1999, the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act 2000, the Immigration Act 2004, the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012, the Children First Act 2015 and certain other enactments; and to provide for related matter.
AI Summary of International Protection Bill 2026 (enacted 22 April 2026)
The International Protection Act 2026 creates a unified domestic regime to implement the new EU asylum and migration instruments (Reception Conditions, Qualification, Procedures, Eurodac, Asylum and Migration Management, Resettlement and Temporary Protection) and replaces significant parts of the 2015 Act. The Minister is designated Determining Authority; the Bill provides for screening and Eurodac biometrics, registration and lodging rules, individual and multi‑disciplinary age assessments, appointed representatives for unaccompanied minors, reception standards, alternatives to detention, accelerated and asylum‑border procedures, and rules for transfers and returns.
The Bill establishes the Tribunal for Asylum and Returns Appeals and an independent Chief Inspector for asylum border procedures, sets the content of protection (residence rights, travel documents, family reunification), governs voluntary return and withdrawal, creates offences and enforcement powers, and confers broad regulatory and transitional powers to align national law with EU obligations, with consequential amendments to multiple domestic Acts.
International Protection Bill 2026 (enacted 22 April 2026)
| Sponsor |
|---|
| Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration |
| Source |
|---|
| Government |
| Originating House |
|---|
| Dáil Éireann |
| Date | Stage | House | Document | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 April 2026 | The Bill has been signed into law by the President. | |||
| 15 April 2026 | 5 | Bills | As Passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas | |
| 15 April 2026 | 5 | Dáil Éireann | Debates | From the Seanad |
| 14 April 2026 | 5 | Seanad Éireann | Bill amendments | 1st Substitute List of Amendments [Dáil] |
| 14 April 2026 | 5 | Seanad Éireann | Bill amendments | Additional List of Amendments [Dáil] |
| 7 April 2026 | 5 | Seanad Éireann | Bill amendments | Cream List [Seanad amendments to Dáil Bill] |
| 25 March 2026 | 5 | Seanad Éireann | This Bill has completed Seanad Éireann, Fifth Stage | |
| 25 March 2026 | 4 | Seanad Éireann | Debates | Report and Final Stages |
| 25 March 2026 | 4 | Seanad Éireann | Bill amendments | Numbered List [Seanad] |
| 19 March 2026 | 3 | Seanad Éireann | Bills | Administrative Reprint - As amended in Committee [Seanad Éireann] |
| 19 March 2026 | 3 | Seanad Éireann | Debates | Committee Stage (Resumed) |
| 18 March 2026 | 3 | Seanad Éireann | Debates | Committee Stage |
| 18 March 2026 | 3 | Seanad Éireann | Bill amendments | Numbered List [Seanad] |
| 13 March 2026 | 3 | Seanad Éireann | Other Documents | Erratum slip |
| 3 March 2026 | 2 | Seanad Éireann | Debates | Second Stage |
| 25 February 2026 | 5 | Dáil Éireann | Bills | As passed by Dáil Éireann |
| 25 February 2026 | 4 | Dáil Éireann | Debates | Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages |
| 23 February 2026 | 3 | Dáil Éireann | Bill amendments | 1st Additional List of Amendments [Dáil] |
| 18 February 2026 | 3 | Dáil Éireann | Debates | Committee Stage |
| 18 February 2026 | 3 | Dáil Éireann | Debates | Second Stage (Resumed) |
| 18 February 2026 | 3 | Dáil Éireann | Debates | Financial Resolution |
| 17 February 2026 | 3 | Dáil Éireann | Bill amendments | Numbered List [Dáil] |
| 12 February 2026 | 2 | Dáil Éireann | Debates | Second Stage (Resumed) |
| 10 February 2026 | 2 | Dáil Éireann | Debates | Second Stage (Resumed) |
| 25 February 2026 | 5 | Dáil Éireann | Bills | As passed by Dáil Éireann |
| 28 January 2026 | 2 | Dáil Éireann | Debates | Second Stage |
| 22 January 2026 | 1 | Dáil Éireann | Explanatory memoranda | Explanatory Memorandum |
| 22 January 2026 | 1 | Dáil Éireann | Bills | As initiated |