The system for managing applications for asylum came close to collapse last year as senior officials warned backlogs were quickly reaching "unmanageable levels".
In high-level talks, officials said the huge rise in people claiming International Protection was becoming more and more difficult to process.
It said long backlogs were leading to higher costs and longer "periods for which there are entitlements to accommodation and other supports".
The discussions led to a major increase in funding and staffing as officials were told the system was on the verge of buckling.
An email between the Department of Justice and the Department of Public Expenditure last summer said: "Without further investment, backlogs will reach unmanageable levels in less than a year.
"In practice, we are still working to recruit staff and appoint panel members … but as the year progresses, we will need to move beyond these if we are to meet the scale of the processing challenge."
The Department of Justice had refused to release the documents on extra money and staff to deal with International Protection applications.
However, following an appeal under FOI laws, they have now released some records which detail how the system had seen a 385% increase in expected applications between 2022 and 2023.
A business case said the number of claims being made was "outrunning processing capacity" leading to enormous caseloads.
It said investment was now required at "every stage" of the international protection process.
The business case said: "Most applicants are entitled to reception conditions, including accommodation, access to healthcare and education, and a contribution to weekly expenses while their cases are being processed."
It said deportations had almost ground to a halt during and immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic making Ireland an attractive country for those seeking asylum.
The paper said the country needed a "credible and effective" policy on immigration and that forced removals were an "essential element" of that.
However, it warned there was likely to be a simultaneous increase in legal cases because of the likely "increases in negative [International Protection] decisions".
It also warned of what it said were the "downstream impacts" of an increase in asylum applications.
They said that every person granted refugee status or subsidiary protection was entitled to apply for family reunification.
The document said: "[Circa] 35 to 40% do so and on average seek permissions for 2.5 family members to be allowed join them."
In the business case, officials called for a major increase in all areas, for processing cases, hearing appeals, and dealing with travel documents.
However, details of how many extra staff were asked for have been redacted from the records.
Another presentation prepared by officials said one of the biggest "bottlenecks" they had faced was holding face-to-face interviews with asylum seekers.
A note said: "Two phases of building works in Timberlay House [Mount Street] have increased interview rooms from 15 to 23 and most recently to 39 rooms."
It said plans were also advancing for the holding of remote interviews to speed up the process even further.
A separate slideshow said officials were also targeting "inadmissible" applications to cut off applications as quickly as possible.
This would mainly be for cases where people were from a designated 'safe country of origin'.
They said work was also under way on better assessing the age of some "unaccompanied minors," which is understood to be linked to cases where applicants claim to be younger than they are.
Asked about the records, a Department of Justice spokesman said their priority was to deal with International Protection applications "as soon as possible."
He said: "This gives status to those who are entitled to international protection to rebuild their lives here, while also ensuring faster decision making in respect of those who do not meet the criteria."
The spokesman said last year’s budget had provided an extra €25 million for investment in the system for processing asylum applications.
He added: "All aspects of the international protection modernisation programme will continue to be kept under review and improved on a continuous ongoing basis."
