LAST UPDATE | 27 Sep 2025

ASYLUM SEEKERS’ PAYMENTS under the voluntary return grant are to be increased under a new order signed by Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan.

O’Callaghan is to increase the allowance to €2,500 for individuals and up to €10,000 for families if they drop their asylum claims and return home.

An existing allowance of €1,200 for an individual or €2,000 for a couple or family is in place.

Asylum seekers leaving voluntarily is the preferred option for the department, it said, and its voluntary return programme assists people in returning to their home countries before a deportation order is issued.

The Department said that up until 19 September, 1,159 people left voluntarily under this programme. This is an increase of 129% on the same period last year, it said.

The grant levied to asylum seekers leaving voluntarily under the programme can only be availed of once. It is offered to support people to “re-establish themselves, access education or set up a small business when they return home”.

A spokesperson for the Department said the change will alleviate pressure on the international protection system, and if people leave the country earlier, it saves money on accommodation and enforcing deportation orders down the line.

The Department spokesperson said: “The purpose of the International Protection system is to give protection to people who are fleeing war, torture and oppression. This targeted measure aims to help people leave the process who are not at risk.

“The higher level of grants will only be available to those in the process before 28 September 2025. It will not be available to those who apply after this date.

“The Department will still reserve the right to refuse financial assistance to those with a history of criminality in the State.”

The new levels of support will come into effect from Monday.

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe was asked about the reports as he joined Fine Gael colleagues at a conference in Carlow earlier the party hosted for small and medium-sized businesses.

“I understand Minister O’Callaghan is looking at this at the moment,” he said.

“We know that deportations do play an important role in relation to having a fair and efficient migration system in place. But it’s also costly, it also takes a lot of time to actually make them happen.

“I understand what Minister O’Callaghan is doing is looking at is there other ways in which we could ensure that those who will be leaving Ireland at some point in the future, do so in a more timely and a more efficient way.

“This is a decision that he’s able to make inside his own budget. We, overall, as a Government believe that having an open economy and an open society is enormously positive.

“It’s really important for the growth of our economy, really important for our society to continue to grow, but, at the same time, we do need to have migration rules that are clear and well implemented, and this appears to be a way in which that can be further delivered.”

Includes reporting by Press Association