Irish Catholic Bishops have raised "serious concerns" over the International Protection Act 2026, which was signed into law by President Catherine Connolly earlier this week.
The act legislates for the introduction of the EU Pact on Asylum and Migration, due to be introduced in June.
The Bishops' Council for Migrants, Refugees and Justice and Peace has said the law "favours firmness over fairness."
It has expressed "deep regret" that the law provides for the detention of children, even if it is in exceptional circumstances and as a measure of last resort.
The bishops are in agreement with the UNHCR that children should not be detained for immigration-related reasons as per human rights law.
Chair of the Council, Bishop Alan McGuckian SJ, said that while the Government's "mantra" in adopting the pact was "firm but fair", the council has grave concerns that the law is overwhelmingly weighted towards firmness at the cost of fairness.
The bishops are concerned over access to oral appeals being limited, restrictions on the freedom of movement of applicants, and enhanced garda powers of arrest and detention.
Bishop McGuckian said there was a lack of clarity around procedural safeguards in age assessments and protections for vulnerable applicants in the asylum border procedure.
The council is also strongly opposed to the new family reunification restrictions, describing them as anti-family.
While there have been calls to speed up processing and eliminate lengthy delays in determining applications, the council has said that this should not be at the expense of due process.
"There has been significant confusion around the operation of essential legal counselling in the new international protection legislation," said Bishop McGuckian.
"Our Council urges adequate resourcing of the Legal Aid Board to ensure timely access to legal counselling and representation in asylum procedures when the EU Pact commences in June."
