Now new migration rules are in force, how will they work?

The EU Migration and Asylum Pact was agreed in 2020 as a result of the refugee crisis of 2015 and 2016.

Since then, Ireland and the wider EU has seen a rise in people seeking asylum, following the lifting of Covid-19 travel restrictions.

In April, the International Protection Act, which gives effect to the pact, was passed into law by the Oireachtas.

There is now a series of new EU regulations that Ireland has opted into and needs to comply with.

Those rules take effect from today.

Under the 2026 act, asylum seekers will undergo screening at Citywest.

A new system has been piloted for 10 months under a transition project, which received 2,272 applications.

This generated enough "data and learning", according to the Department of Justice, to deliver.

During the screening process, applicants undergo security, identity, health, and vulnerability checks.

Those arriving at Irish ports, airports or at international protection application offices claiming asylum are subject to initial security and identity checks and registered on the Eurodac system.

Children from the age of six and adults are fingerprinted, photos taken, documents sought, and questions asked regarding travel to Ireland.

Screening management is the responsibility of the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, and the process should take seven days or less.

The screening centre has staff from asylum processing, appeals, returns, reception, An Garda Síochána, Health Service Executive, Department of Social Protection, Legal Aid Board (LAB), and other agencies co-located and engaging with applicants onsite.

Those seeking asylum undergo a health assessment to identify any serious diseases or needs.

A preliminary vulnerability assessment identifies particular needs when it comes to accommodation/reception and engaging with the asylum process.

Preliminary health assessments are led by the HSE, and vulnerability assessments are led by the department's International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS).

A total of 411 applicants identifying as minors applied for international protection at Citywest during the duration of the transition project.

For the new system to bed in, it is understood that there will be two parallel processes for a time, as the old international protection system peters out.

On a practical level, the aim of the new system is to speed up the processing of asylum cases across the EU.

Decisions on standard cases will be made within six months, three months for accelerated cases, and 12 weeks for border procedures (including appeals and return decisions).

The border procedure includes appeal and decision.

Under the pact, all EU countries must have a border procedure.

The border procedure is for applicants that are from a country where the proportion of decisions granting international protection is 20% or lower.

It can also be used for applicants who are known to have misled authorities or to have destroyed or disposed of an identity or travel document.

Applicants in this category must be processed within a 12-week timeframe.

The border procedure allows for restriction on free movement - the "legal fiction" that people have not yet entered the territory.

However, it is understood that Ireland is not implementing restricted movement to the extent that other countries might be.

It is also understood that people wishing to leave their accommodation while waiting for a decision will need to sign in and out of the centre each day.

The Asylum Border Procedure will be subject to independent human rights monitoring by the Chief Inspector of Asylum Border Procedures.

It is widely agreed that the Migration Pact is a big undertaking for the Department of Justice, and a lot of resources are required.

Legal counselling, as provided for in the pact measures, will be provided by LAB.

The Department of Justice has said that legal counselling is in addition to any legal assistance and representation provided to applicants by LAB, and they will continue to be supported in fulfilling this role.

The International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) will be wound down over time to make way for the Tribunal for Asylum and Returns Appeals (TARA).

The current number of appeals is significant. They grew from 895 at the end of 2022 to 19,000 by January 2026.

Overall, the implementation of the Migration Pact is widely regarded as a more significant challenge for Ireland than for other European countries.

Unlike many EU member states, which have been subject to legally binding migration and asylum measures since 2013, Ireland was not bound by those instruments because it did not opt into them.

According to the European Migration Network, while other countries have had years to adapt gradually to the framework underpinning the Migration Pact, Ireland is effectively having to make several of those adjustments simultaneously.