On this page, you will find:
To find organisations working for LGBTQI+ rights, visit our Ireland LGBTQI+ Resources page.
For Ireland country of origin information (COI) experts, reports, commentaries, and relevant documents visit our Ireland COI page.
Refugee protection
Click here to see the numbers and origins of refugees hosted by Ireland.
The following sections contain information on the most important international treaties and agreements of which Ireland is signatory, as well as national legislation relevant to the protection of refugees.
Ireland acceded to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees in 1956 and to its 1967 Protocol in 1968. Ireland also acceded to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons in 1962 and to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness in 1973.
Additionally, Ireland is a European Union Member State, meaning it is a part of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS)— the European Union’s framework for asylum seekers.
Further, as an EU Member State, Ireland is party to the Maastricht, Amsterdam and Lisbon treaties. However, Ireland made reservations to these treaties, as specified in the Protocols. As a consequence of these reservations, Ireland has to opt in, on a case-by-case basis, on Directives in the area of asylum. Ireland has opted in on the Dublin II Regulation.
Ireland has a well established refugee status determination system in place. In 1996, Ireland its domestic legal provisions in the Refugee Act (as amended). Section 2 defines the legal understanding of a ‘refugee’ while Section 3 outlines the extension to refugees of certain rights. In 1999, Ireland established the Immigration Act which further outlined the government’s treatment of non-nationals.
Additionally, in 2006, Ireland established the European Communities (Eligibility for Protection) Regulations 2006 (Statutory Instrument 518 of 2006). This provision complements the Refugee Act, making important specifications such as the fact that persons granted subsidiary protection in Ireland are granted the same rights as refugees recognized in Ireland.
For more information on the primary legislation and statutory instruments that govern the function and processes of the International Protection Office, explore Ireland’s International Protection Office’s Legal Protection page.
Legal aid organisations
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Address: 19 Belvedare Place, Dublin, Ireland
Tel: +353 1 855 2111
Email: info@cairde.ie
Cairde (Challenging Ethnic Minority Health Inequalities) is a community development organisation working to tackle health inequalities among ethnic minority communities by improving ethnic minority access to health services, and ethnic minority participation in health planning and delivery. Cairde works with disadvantaged ethnic minority communities from the continent of Africa; Eastern Europe and the Baltic states.
In regard to legal aid, they run The Health Information and Advocacy Centre (HIAC) which focuses mainly on healthcare access, but also partners with The Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland and Polish Social & Legal Advice Centre to provide legal information to migrants and refugees.
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Address: 70 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2 Dublin, Ireland 2
Tel: +353 1 661 4911 (General Inquiries) | +353 1800 778888 (National Hotline)
Email: info@rcc.ie
The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre is dedicated to preventing the harm and healing the trauma of sexual violence. Although the Centre is based in Dublin, their counsellors take calls from all over the country on the National Helpline, which is open 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.
The Volunteer Services Department provides court accompaniment to any member of the general public who has been a victim of sexual violence and is attending court in relation to this crime, including to refugees and migrants. They also provide a similar accompaniment service when requested by a victim making a statement to the Gardaí, or when accessing other relevant services.
Additionally, the service provides Legal System accompaniment for asylum-seekers to interviews at the Office of the Refugee Applications Commission (ORAC) or to the Refugee Appeals Tribunal.
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Address: 37 Killarney Street, Mountjoy, Dublin, Ireland
Tel: +353 1 764 5854
Email: info@irishrefugeecouncil.ie (General Inquiries) | lawcentre@irishrefugeecouncil.ie (Legal Inquiries)
The Irish Refugee Council believes, in accordance with the 1951 Convention relating to the status of refugees, that every person has the right to claim asylum and to have their application considered in a fair and transparent manner. The IRC’s priorities are delivering high quality legal support to asylum seekers; supporting and protecting children and young people in the immigration system; public awareness; and capacity building among key players in the asylum system in order to bring about change to practice and policy.
Their Law Centre offers offers legal support across all stages of the international protection process.
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Address: 54-72 Gardiner Street Upper, Dublin 1, D01 TX23 Dublin, Ireland 1
Tel: +353 1 814 8644
Email: info@jrs.ie
The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) is an international non-governmental organisation, founded in 1980. Their mission is to accompany, to serve and to advocate for refugees and forcibly displaced persons worldwide. JRS programmes are found in over 50 countries, providing assistance to refugees in camps, to people displaced within their own country, to asylum seekers in cities and those in detention.
One of their focuses is ensuring a fair, transparent and adequately resourced asylum process that operates efficiently and produces good quality final determinations of protection claims in a timely manner.
For more information on their work, examine the ‘What We Do‘ and ‘Resources‘ pages.
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Address: Quay Street, Cahirciveen, Co. Kerry. V23 RD36
Tel.: +353 066 947 1000
Email: info@legalaidboard.ie
The Legal Aid Board’s Refugee Legal Services (RLS) provides a service to asylum seekers at all stages of the asylum process. If you are applying for asylum in Ireland, you can obtain legal advice and assistance from the RLS to assist you with your application. You may register with the RLS at any stage of the asylum process, but the earlier you apply for legal services the better. They can assist with asylum applications (before submitting your questionnaire to the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner or before you attend your interview in the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner); Appeals (Representation before the Refugee Appeals Tribunal); Refugee status refusals (Assistance in submitting applications for Leave to Remain); Assistance in relation to an application for subsidiary protection; Advice in relation to deportation orders and judicial review; and representation if you are detained in the District Court under Section 9(8) of the Refugee Act.
They can also provide interpreters for appointments with your solicitor.
As well as the three main offices, the RLS also run free legal aid information clinics for refugees in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Ennis (Co. Clare), Athlone (Co. Westmeath), Sligo, Tralee (co. Kerry), and Stillorgan (Co. Dublin). For more information on conating these offices, visit their ‘Contact Us‘ page.
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Address: 34 Paul Street, 1st Floor Cork City, T12 W14H
Tel: +353 21 427 3594
Email: info@jrs.ie
Nasc is an NGO based in Cork, Ireland. Nasc— the Irish word for ‘link’— empowers migrants to realise and fulfil their rights. They works with migrants and refugees to advocate and lead for change within Ireland’s immigration and protection systems, to ensure fairness, access to justice and the protection of human rights.
Nasc supports and empowers migrants to realise their rights through face to face personal free legal advocacy (found through the ‘Get Help‘ page) and also through the up-to-date information and self-advocacy tools provided on the Know Your Rights pages.
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Address: 213 North Circular Road Phibsborough, Phibsborough Road
Tel: +353 018389664
Email: info@spirasi.ie
SPIRASI has been working with survivors of torture since early 2001 and is the only specialist centre in Ireland for the care and rehabilitation of survivors of torture and severe trauma. They are a member of the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) since May 2003. SPIRASI aims to rehabilitate survivors of torture with the help of their medical doctors, psychologists, therapists and psycho-social workers by providing medical, therapeutic and social assistance. They see integration as an important part of our clients’ rehabilitation. SPIRASI provides free English, numeracy and IT classes, which are open not just to survivors of torture but refugees and asylum seekers as well.
SPIRASI also works to protect survivors of torture from the threat of refoulement, which means the forced return of a person to a country where they face persecution.
Additionally, they have a Medico-Legal Report service which is an important legal document used to support a torture survivor’s asylum claim. For more information on accessing their services, visit the ‘Referrals‘ page.
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Email: contact@w2eu.info or w2eu_info@yahoo.com
The Welcome to Europe website is an independent source of information for refugees coming to Europe. It might be useful on their journey to and through Europe by giving access to counseling and useful contacts in different European countries. Their Ireland country page gives information on the Irish asylum application process and provides useful contacts.
Organisations providing other support to refugees
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Address: Unit 2 Killarney Court, Buckingham Street, Dublin, Ireland
Tel: +353 1 834 9851
Email: info@akidwa.ie
AkiDwA (Swahili for sisterhood) is an authoritative, minority ethnic-led national network of African and migrant women living in Ireland. AkiDwA works to promote equality and justice for migrant women living in Ireland by ensuring equal opportunities and access to resources. Their activities are focused on helping migrants to participate fully in all aspects of social, cultural, economic, civic and political life in Ireland.
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Address: Seán MacBride House, 48 Fleet Street, Dublin 2, Ireland
Tel: +353 (01) 863 8300
Email: info@amnesty.ie
Amnesty International Ireland’s mission is to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of human rights. A large program of theirs is their push to end Direct Provision, Ireland’s system of state provided accommodation and other basic necessities to people seeking international protection— a system wrought with human rights scandal. They argue that the living conditions, institutionalised regime and lack of appropriate support services are unacceptable for anyone, especially for such long periods of time.
To learn more about this campaign and the work they do to support refugees and migrants, visit ‘End Direct Provision.’
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Address: St Peter’s Church, Phibsboro, Dublin 7
Tel: +353 (1) 810 2580
Email: refugeecentrephibsboro@eircom.net
The Vincentian Refugee Centre provides services for people seeking asylum, refugees and people with permission to remain in the State. It is a collaborative ministry of the Daughters of Charity, the Society of Vincent dePaul and the Congregation of the Mission. The organisation aims to provide a place of welcome and hospitality and to aid those seeking asylum in finding a decent quality of life and living circumstances. They work for social justice and act to lessen the difficulties towards integration.
Ireland LGBTQI+ Resources
Find organisations working for refugee LGBTQI+ rights in Ireland.
Ireland COI
Find Ireland Country of Origin information (COI) experts, reports, commentaries, and relevant documents.
We are always looking to expand the resources on our platform. If you know about relevant resources, or you are aware of organisations and/or individuals to include in our directories, please get in touch.
Last updated May 2023