Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan will seek Government approval this morning to progress legislation which will lead to the most significant reform of Irish asylum laws in the history of the State.
The minister is expected to tell the Cabinet that the current international protection system is not working effectively, with decisions taking far too long.
The new legislation which would take effect in the middle of next year would set a three-month time limit for international protection decisions.
It would also considerably limit the use of oral hearings for appeals as part of efforts to deliver final decisions quicker.
The new International Protection Bill 2025 will replace the 2015 Act and it will for the first time allow officers to directly issue decisions on returns.
This will replace the current system, where international protection officers make recommendations to the Minister for Justice.
There have been 42% fewer International Protection applications in the first three months of 2025 compared to the first three months of last year.
Proposals to amend National Training Fund
Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science James Lawless will bring a memo to Cabinet outlining proposals to amend the National Training Fund (NTF) Act.
This will allow new expenditure commitments announced in Budget 2025 to be delivered from 2026 onwards.
A €1.485bn NTF investment package for the Higher Education sector, spanning a six-year period to 2030, was announced in the last budget.
For the first time, NTF resources will support areas not previously eligible for funding such as capital investment, core funding for higher education, and research.
The plan includes €650m for Higher Education and this will increase core funding by an additional €150m annually by 2030.
There will be a €600m capital programme, with €150m earmarked for essential training facilities in veterinary, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and dentistry.
Some €150m has been allocated for upgrading and decarbonising buildings along with €150m for investment in the Further Education and Training (FET) sector.
€150m will be made available for research, including increased PhD stipends and €235m in one-off current funding for skills development and apprenticeships.
