Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan has signed an order that will see asylum seekers and their families offered up to €10,000 to drop their claim for International Protection.

The increased voluntary return grant will apply to those who sought asylum in Ireland before 28 September and who are awaiting a decision on their status.

Under the voluntary return programme, asylum seekers can receive financial support to return to their home country if they do not have permission to remain in Ireland.

The Department of Justice has said that an increased “reintegration allowance” for people earlier in the asylum seeking process has been introduced in order to reduce pressure on the system.

The department says that as of 19 September last, 1,159 people left Ireland by way of voluntary return so far this year, an increase of 129% compared to the same period in 2024.

In terms of the current grant allowance under the voluntary return programme, up to €1,200 is offered per person and €2,000 for a family.

Under the increased rates, this would rise to €2,500 per person and a maximum of €10,000 for a family.

It is available to people in the asylum system before 28 September and who are awaiting a decision on their status.

Voluntary return is open to people who have no legal status in Ireland, who have withdrawn their application for international protection or who have had it refused.

It is not offered to people who have been convicted of a serious crime.

Speaking to reporters in Carlow, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said: “We know that deportations do play an important role in relation to having a fair and efficient migration system in place.

“But it is also costly, it also takes a lot of time to actually make them happen and I understand what Minister O’Callaghan is doing is looking at other ways in which we could ensure that those who will be leaving Ireland at some point in the future do so in a more timely and more efficient way.”

Israeli media is reporting that Hamas has agreed in principle to the US peace plan which was presented to Israel and Arab countries this week.

The plan would allow Palestinians to remain in Gaza and reform the Palestinian Authority in a departure from previous US deals. The reports come after another bloody night in Gaza.

Fresh overnight strikes have killed dozens, according to medics in Gaza, but there is renewed hope today as Israeli media is reporting Hamas has agreed in principle to the Trump administration’s latest peace plan.

Leaked details suggest it is a significant departure from previous US deals.

Reports say that Palestinians would be allowed to remain in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority would be reformed.

During that process, Gaza would be run by local technocrats overseen by a new international body and Hamas would be completely disarmed.

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Prince Harry has described claims that he was surprised his recent reunion with the King was ‘distinctly formal’ as “categorically false”.

Reports in The Sun newspaper claimed he even joked that he was made to feel more like an official visitor rather than a family member in his meeting with his father earlier this month.

But a spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex hit back today, saying: “Recent reporting of The Duke’s view of the tone of the meeting, is categorically false.

“The quotes attributed to him are pure invention fed, one can only assume, by sources intent on sabotaging any reconciliation between father and son.

“Presumably, those same sources have also chosen to disclose that gifts were exchanged.

“While we would have preferred such details to remain private, for the sake of clarity we can confirm that a framed photograph was handed over, however the image did not contain the Duke and Duchess.”

Harry is reported to have handed his father a framed picture of his children, Archie and Lilibet.

‘Emotionally-charged response from Harry’

It is a particularly pointed and emotionally-charged response from Harry and his team, suggesting that a story about his meeting with the King shows sources “are intent on sabotaging any reconciliation between father and son”, Sky News’ royal correspondent Rhiannon Mills writes.

Yes – Harry, since leaving the royals, has been a lot more outspoken about how he feels he’s been treated by the press and sources inside the palace.

But this comment is particularly swift, and the fact it’s a quote from his spokesperson shows he deliberately wants to get his side on this out there. It’s also indicative of a new team he’s now got in place.

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It also emphasises how important that meeting was to Harry.

The week that he was over in the UK was seen as a big step forward in terms of a reset for Harry, his work and public perceptions about him, but the fact that he also saw his father meant that he and his team could go home happy.

It was the one piece of the jigsaw that wasn’t entirely in his control, but it fell into place with that 50-minute meeting at Clarence House.

Obviously, a lot has been said over the past five years since he left the Royal Family, and no one thinks that can be erased, but Harry has made it clear he wants reconciliation.

He also said to a reporter who followed him to Ukraine, at the end of his week in the UK, that his father is his priority.

Sadly, we can see from the spokesperson’s quote that this only reinforces Harry’s belief that people within the palace were always briefing against him and his family.

Trust is still, on all sides, the biggest barrier to rebuilding and reconciliation.