DUBLIN, Ireland: Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan has said he wants annual asylum applications in Ireland to fall below 10,000, describing current levels as "too high."

More than 18,500 people sought asylum in Ireland in 2024, far above pre-pandemic figures of 3,000–5,000 a year. Applications fell to between 1,500 and 2,600 during 2020–2021 before surging to over 13,500 in both 2022 and 2023. In addition, more than 114,000 people fleeing the war in Ukraine arrived over the same period, bringing the total number seeking international or temporary protection between 2022 and 2024 to 159,000.

O'Callaghan told the Justice Committee these numbers "created a crisis," overwhelming the International Protection Office and forcing the State to rapidly expand accommodation. His predecessor, Roderic O'Gorman, suggested that 15,000 applications annually could become the "new normal," but O'Callaghan disagreed: "I still think those numbers are too high."

The minister said he aims to cut the "eye-watering" costs of the International Protection Accommodation Service, which spent just over 1 billion euros in 2024. The budget for 2025 has risen to 1.2 billion euros. "The reason we spent one billion last year is because about 33,000 people are being accommodated," he said. "The way to respond is to process applications faster so people aren't staying in centres for years but for a matter of months."

Accommodation costs averaged 84 euros per person per night last year, falling to 71 euros this year. O'Callaghan said he hoped to bring costs down further but was reluctant to set expectations around the new rate.

He also revealed he had personally been subjected to an airport "doorstep" identification check after a flight—one of more than 4,150 such checks carried out between January and August to detect arrivals without documentation.