Written answer
International Protection
Training materials for IPAT and the newly established TARA are not publicly available, to protect tribunal independence, although IPAT practices and procedures are published online. Members receive internal, mentoring and external training, while TARA’s Appeals Officers are undergoing onboarding and training in the relevant legal framework, jurisprudence and country-of-origin information.
377. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the guidelines, practice directions, training materials and country-of-origin information provided to members of the International Protection Appeals Tribunal and Appeals Officers of the Tribunal for Asylum and Returns Appeals when determining international protection appeals; whether these materials are publicly available; and if he will publish any that are not currently available. [67705/26]
Comment on this
As the Deputy will be aware, the International Protection Act 2026 entered into effect on 12 June 2026 and gives effect to the EU Migration and Asylum Pact.
As part of these new measures a new international protection appeals body, the Tribunal for Asylum and Returns Appeals (TARA) was established on the 12 June which will process all appeals made under the International Protection 2026 Act. The International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) will continue to process appeals arising under the International Protection Act 2015.
The training materials of IPAT and TARA are not publicly available to safeguard the independence of the Tribunal as the equivalent of a ‘court or tribunal’ for the purposes of EU law.
As noted in part 4.1. of the Annual Report of the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT), the training of Tribunal Members is of central importance in the Tribunal. Training is delivered formally through dedicated in-person training sessions and informally through Lunch and Learn meetings which are held online to facilitate attendance by as many Members as possible.
As well as the usual internal training for Members, induction trainings were held for new Members. Tribunal Members also had the opportunity to avail of external training provided by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA), the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
A number of Members of the Tribunal are also members of the EUAA Judicial Experts’ Pool, and they too deliver training to their colleagues. The pool consists of judicial experts from 16 EU+ countries and reflects the diversity of members of courts and tribunals working in the field of international protection, from all levels of the judiciary.
The Tribunal is a collegiate body and new Tribunal Members benefitted significantly from mentoring they received from more experienced Members. Mentors shared insights on best practice in oral hearings and in writing decisions. The Tribunal also issues an internal journal, the Tribunal Quarterly, to all Members.
The journal includes articles by Tribunal Members, updates on country information and a summary of caselaw from the Irish Superior Courts, the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights, and relevant judgments from the courts of other Member States and the UK.
The Tribunal is bound by the Qualification Regulation (EU) 2024/1347 and the EUAA Regulation (EU) 2021/2303 and in that regard, must take into account precise and up-to-date information on countries of origin obtained from relevant and available national, Union and international sources and, where available, the common analysis on the situation in specific countries of origin and the guidance notes referred to in Article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2303.
Information on the Tribunal’s practices and procedures, including www.protectionappeals.ie/chairpersons-guidelines
www.protectionappeals.ie/administrative-practice-note/and
www.protectionappeals.ie/other-practices-and-procedures/are available on www.protectionappeals.ie/
TARA was established on 12 June 2026 and, as a new body, onboarding of administrative staff and Appeals Officers is still underway. This includes considerable levels of formal training courses, alongside peer to peer knowledge exchange.
The Chief Appeals Officer, along with her team, are progressing training for new appeal officers, which will be enhanced and provided on an ongoing basis in TARA, inter alia, the legal framework and jurisprudence to enable them to determine appeals on issues of fact and law.
Once the onboarding process has been completed the Appeals Officers will also be given the opportunity to avail of external training provided by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA), the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).