A total of 13,160 people applied for asylum in Ireland in 2025, a decrease of 5,491 since the previous year.
This represents an almost 30 per cent decrease in applications throughout the year.
In 2024, there was a record high number of people applied for asylum, when there was a total of 18,651.
The previous highest year on record was 2023 when 13,264 people made applications for international protection.
Since November 2022, a total of 15 countries have been designated as safe countries of origin and citizens of those countries who apply for asylum are subject to an accelerated process whereby their applications are dealt with within a period of three months.
There has been a drop of almost 70 per cent in applications from designated safe countries following the introduction of those accelerated procedures.
Meanwhile, more than 1,600 asylum seekers voluntarily left Ireland last year, according to provisional figures from the Department of Justice.
That is a 72 per cent rise on 2024, when 934 people left the State by way of voluntary return.
While there was an overall increase in the number of asylum seekers voluntarily leaving Ireland in 2025, there was no marked rise from September despite the Government offering larger financial incentives for people who left.
Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan announced that, for a limited time, people in the international protection process before September 28th would be offered an increased “reintegration assistance” fee if they chose to avail of voluntary return at an earlier stage.
As of last month, the State was housing almost 33,000 international protection applicants in more than 300 accommodation centres.