The International Protection System:
What Is The IPS?

What Is The International Protection System?

The International Protection system in Ireland allows people who are fleeing their countries of origin to make an application to the Irish State to protect them and grant them permission to remain and reception conditions here, on the basis that they would suffer harm if they did not receive such protection.
Ireland is obliged to grant people protection in certain circumstances.

This obligation stems from the following laws:
  • Refugee Convention 1951 (International law)
  • European Union 3004 Qualification Directive (EU law)
  • International Protection Act 3015 (Irish law)
These laws require Ireland to assess whether an applicant for International Protection is entitled to be granted permission to remain in Ireland under one of three headings:

  1. Refugee Status
  2. Subsidiary Protection
  3. Leave to Remain

It is important to understand what each of the terms, “refugee status”, “subsidiary protection” and “leave to remain” mean.

1. Refugee Status

A Refugee is a person who has been granted protection and:

  • Is outside their country of nationality / habitual residence
  • Has a well-founded fear of persecution
  • Owing to reasons of one or more of the following (known as the “5 grounds” or “nexus”):
    1. Race
    2. Religion
    3. Nationality
    4. Political Opinion
    5. Social Group
  • Cannot avail of State Protection, in their country of nationality / habitual residence
“Persecution” is a serious violation of a human right. It is not defined in the CONVENTION but has been assessed by the courts in caselaw.

Refugee status is declaratory, so while the State may take a long time to decide an application, if Refugee status is granted, the person is deemed a refugee from the date they entered Ireland.

2. What is Subsidiary Protection?

Subsidiary protection is a type of protection which is provided for in the EU 2004 Qualification Directive and the International Protection Act 2015. It is granted to a person who:

  • Does not qualify as a Refugee
  • Is not a national of a Member State of the European Union
  • Has shown there are substantial grounds for believing that he/she:
    1. if returned to his or her country of origin
    2. would face a real risk of suffering serious harm
    3. and who is unable or, owing to such risk, unwilling
    4. to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country.

What qualifies as “serious harm”?

  • Death penalty or execution
  • Torture or inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment of a person in his or her country of origin
  • Serious and individual threat to a civilian’s life or person by reason of indiscriminate violence in a situation of international or internal armed conflict

3. What is Leave to Remain?

Leave to remain in the international protection process is a type of permission which is granted to a person who does not qualify for refugee status or subsidiary protection but has been granted permission to remain in the State by the Minister for Justice on other humanitarian grounds.

A leave to remain application must be made within 5 working days of the IPAT refusal decision. It is very important that this application updates the Minister on any relevant change of circumstances.
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I hired Aileen Gittens at PKHL for help with my complex naturalisation case. She is vastly knowledgeable about all matters immigration and was supportive throughout the whole process. Thanks to Aileen I now have my Certificate. I would recommend her counsel to anyone across Ireland. Thank you!
Immigration client - April 2024
Martin J Crotty, Solicitor of Poe Kiely Hogan Lanigan Solicitors has acted for me and my parents for well over 30 years and we have found Martin to be very courteous, professional and precise with all legal work he has done for us. We would highly recommend Martin to anyone who is looking for their legal affairs to be attended to in a timely and accurate manner
Frank Keoghan, Co. Kilkenny
I just wanted to drop you a note to let you know how incredibly helpful and professional we found Katya to deal with during our recent house purchase. Katya was extremely patient with all of our questions and calmly and efficiently helped us through the whole process. Of all of the solicitors we've dealt with she really was the most pleasant, helpful and effective one we have worked with.
Siobhan & Gerry
Poe Kiely Hogan Lanigan has worked with us on a number of different matters, particularly commercial contracts and property matters. They tend to have specialists in each area which means we get the benefit of a very high level of expertise. We find them very responsive to our requirements, they quickly understand what has to be done and deliver the outcomes we need without delay. We value their assistance highly, and I would not hesitate to give them my recommendation.
David Ruane — Managing Director, Pulse Fashion Accessories, Newcastle, Co Dublin
I just wanted to say how happy we were with the service Keith provided when we were changing our mortgage earlier this year. Keith’s efforts were of the highest standard. He was extremely fast, helpful and professional in his approach. Things were getting tight because of interest rate deadlines and Keith really helped to get it over the line. This will save us a lot of money over the course of the 7 year fixed term. I would highly recommend PKHL to anyone considering moving house or remortgaging their home.
R.L. - Waterford
We can’t thank Annette enough for all her hard work and assistance. From the very start Annette made us feel comfortable on our surrogacy journey.Highly recommend Annette and team to couples starting their journey.
Stephen and Theresa, Recent Surrogacy Clients
I hired Aileen Gittens at PKHL for help with my complex naturalisation case. She is vastly knowledgeable about all matters immigration and was supportive throughout the whole process. Thanks to Aileen I now have my Certificate. I would recommend her counsel to anyone across Ireland. Thank you!
Recent Immigration Client
I hired Aileen Gittens at PKHL for help with my complex naturalisation case. She is vastly knowledgeable about all matters immigration and was supportive throughout the whole process. Thanks to Aileen I now have my Certificate. I would recommend her counsel to anyone across Ireland. Thank you!
Immigration client - April 2024
Martin J Crotty, Solicitor of Poe Kiely Hogan Lanigan Solicitors has acted for me and my parents for well over 30 years and we have found Martin to be very courteous, professional and precise with all legal work he has done for us. We would highly recommend Martin to anyone who is looking for their legal affairs to be attended to in a timely and accurate manner
Frank Keoghan, Co. Kilkenny
I just wanted to drop you a note to let you know how incredibly helpful and professional we found Katya to deal with during our recent house purchase. Katya was extremely patient with all of our questions and calmly and efficiently helped us through the whole process. Of all of the solicitors we've dealt with she really was the most pleasant, helpful and effective one we have worked with.
Siobhan & Gerry
Poe Kiely Hogan Lanigan has worked with us on a number of different matters, particularly commercial contracts and property matters. They tend to have specialists in each area which means we get the benefit of a very high level of expertise. We find them very responsive to our requirements, they quickly understand what has to be done and deliver the outcomes we need without delay. We value their assistance highly, and I would not hesitate to give them my recommendation.
David Ruane — Managing Director, Pulse Fashion Accessories, Newcastle, Co Dublin
I just wanted to say how happy we were with the service Keith provided when we were changing our mortgage earlier this year. Keith’s efforts were of the highest standard. He was extremely fast, helpful and professional in his approach. Things were getting tight because of interest rate deadlines and Keith really helped to get it over the line. This will save us a lot of money over the course of the 7 year fixed term. I would highly recommend PKHL to anyone considering moving house or remortgaging their home.
R.L. - Waterford
We can’t thank Annette enough for all her hard work and assistance. From the very start Annette made us feel comfortable on our surrogacy journey.Highly recommend Annette and team to couples starting their journey.
Stephen and Theresa, Recent Surrogacy Clients
I hired Aileen Gittens at PKHL for help with my complex naturalisation case. She is vastly knowledgeable about all matters immigration and was supportive throughout the whole process. Thanks to Aileen I now have my Certificate. I would recommend her counsel to anyone across Ireland. Thank you!
Recent Immigration Client
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