Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan has rejected criticism that a speeded-up asylum process would be cruel and lacking compassion.
The minister announced a major overhaul of Irish asylum laws, along with a promise to decide on international protection applications within three months.
Earlier, Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon said that while there were faults in the system, the proposed tighter timeframe did not suggest compassion and would cause fear for those affected.
Mr O'Callaghan said he disagreed with the Dublin Central TD.
Watch: Minister says asylum laws 'not fit for purpose' at present
"What is cruel is asking someone to come into the country and then processing their application over a period of up to three years, that's where the real cruelty arises.
"What we need to have is a process that gives people a quick decision. If you succeed, and are entitled to asylum you can stay, if you don't, you must leave."
Mr O'Callaghan said the current system was not working and was not fit for purpose with decisions taking too long and consequently becoming too costly.
The International Protection Bill 2025 will make it unlawful for most asylum application decisions or appeal decisions to take longer than three months.
The minister said this would be achieved by putting in more resources into the International Protection Office as well as cutting down on the number of oral hearings at appeal stage.
Mr O'Callaghan also acknowledged that the bill provided for detention centres, although he said he hoped they would not be necessary.
The general scheme of the bill is published today, and it will go to pre-legislative scrutiny over the next few months.
It is expected that the full bill will be published in November, and it must be passed by June 2026 in order to comply with the EU Migration and Asylum Pact.
Earlier, Taoiseach Micheál Martin described planned changes to the Irish asylum laws as "the most significant reform in decades".
The International Protection Bill 2025 will replace the 2015 Act and it will for the first time allow officers to directly issue decisions on returns.
This will replace the current system, where international protection officers make recommendations to the Minister for Justice.
Speaking on his way into the Cabinet meeting, the Taoiseach said up to 80% of people who applied for international protection in Ireland were not eligible for asylum.
"Up to 80% of people who have applied have not been found to be eligible for asylum. So there is a need for a much more accelerated timeline and processing in the interest of everybody," Mr Martin added.
However, Mr Gannon accused the Minister for Justice of making up immigration policy "on the fly".
The Dublin Central TD also said the three-month decision time sounded unduly harsh and the system should not have cruelty built in.
There was 42% fewer International Protection applications in the first three months of 2025 compared to the first three months of last year.
Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary also disputed claims that changes made to Ireland's immigration system are cruel.
"It’s not cruel, it’s more efficient. I think what’s cruel is to leave people waiting for 15 months, effectively leaving them in limbo, and then at the end telling them they have to leave the country," he said.
Speaking to RTÉ’s Drivetime, he said: "Telling people where they stand, whether they are allowed to wait in the country or not, in a much quicker way is much more humane. It’s much more efficient and it should be delivered."
Mr Calleary added that the new system would give more certainty to those applying to seek asylum that they do not currently have.
'Further breakdown' in social cohesion - Tóibín
Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín said the Government has "been absolutely terrible" at managing immigration and warned of a "further breakdown" in social cohesion if it does not get to grips with the issue.
The failure rate for asylum applications has risen to 80%, he noted.
"I think the Government has sent out a message loud and clear over the last four or five years that if a person comes to this country, it'll take about six years for their application to be properly processed.
"Even if their application fails and they receive a deportation order, they will not be deported."
He added: "Even today, the majority of people who receive deportation orders do not have deportations enforced."
Mr Tóibín pointed to the "serious cost" of this, with €1 billion "spent on accommodation for asylum seekers last year".
