Domestic Legislation

The Refugee Act 1996 (as amended)  is the principal national legislation dealing with applications for asylum in  Ireland. This Act incorporated the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its related 1967 Protocol into Irish law. It provided for the establishment of the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner (ORAC) and the Refugee Appeals Tribunal (RAT), and set out a framework for the determination of applications for asylum and family reunification. The Act has been amended by the Immigration Act 1999, the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act 2000 and the Immigration Act 2003.

The European Communities (Eligibility for Protection) Regulations 2006 gave effect to Council Directive 2004/83/EC on minimum standards for the qualification and status of third country nationals or stateless persons as refugees or as persons who otherwise need international protection and the content of the protection granted. 

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