OCO submission on the International Protection Bill 2025

The OCO has made a submission on the General Scheme of the International Protection Bill 2025. This piece of work builds on the Office’s detailed submission on the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum and Ireland’s National Implementation Plan (NIP) made in March this year.

The OCO is concerned that the General Scheme signals a significant backslide in the protection of children’s rights and human rights more broadly. Migrant children arriving in Ireland are among the most vulnerable in our society. This piece of legislation, if enacted without significant safeguards, risks further undermining the rights of these children, especially those arriving unaccompanied.

The OCO remains open to offer advice at any stage of the legislative process, to ensure that provisions relating to children are pursuant with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and Ireland’s other international human rights obligations.

• June 2025
• Type: Submission