2350. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the assessment his Department has made of the anticipated workload for immigration service delivery arising from applications under the temporary protection transition scheme; the estimated number of applications expected; the additional staffing and administrative resources required to process the applications; whether additional staff have been recruited or will be recruited in advance of the September 2026 opening of applications; the estimated processing time for applications; and the contingency arrangements in place should application volumes exceed current processing capacity. [61749/26]

The Government has approved the development of an alternative immigration permission for people with Temporary Protection in Ireland. This permission, known as the Temporary Protection Transition Scheme, will be granted for an initial period of up to two years and may be renewed for further two-year periods. The application process is expected to open in the coming weeks.

Eligibility criteria will apply, including a minimum income of €29,432 per year, having independent accommodation, and being continuously resident in Ireland for a period of one year. The principal applicant must demonstrate they meet each criterion to be granted the permission under the scheme.

As of June 2026, the CSO estimates that approximately 84,739 (69%) of those who registered for Temporary Protection continue to be active in/reside in Ireland. 31,069 persons fleeing the war in Ukraine who are currently residing in the state are in employment, with mean weekly earnings in May 2026 for these employments of €573: Arrivals from Ukraine in Ireland Series 19 - Central Statistics Office:

(www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/fp/p-aui/arrivalsfromukraineinirelandseries19/). Based on this data, it is likely that a large proportion of these can meet the income requirement. However, it is not possible at this stage to predict the number of applications that may be received or to provide an estimate of processing times. This is due to to a number of factors, including variations in family composition and the individual circumstances and complexities of each case.

The Temporary Protection Transition Scheme forms part of the Government’s wider preparations for an orderly transition from Temporary Protection and is in line with the EU Council recommendation for a co-ordinated approach to transition people out of Temporary Protection across the EU. This transition is being implemented on a phased basis.

Planning for the implementation of the Scheme is ongoing within my Department. Workload requirements and operational arrangements continue to be assessed in advance of the opening of applications. At present, I am satisfied that sufficient resource capacity is available in my Department to implement each stage of the Government decision and for an orderly transition from Temporary Protection.

The Temporary Protection Transition Scheme is expected to open for applications in the coming weeks. Further information is available on the Department's Ukraine Updates webpage, which will be updated in advance of the launch of the Scheme with details of the application process.