THE GOVERNMENT HAS lodged an appeal against a High Court judgement that found the State has breached the human rights of asylum seekers by failing to provide them with accommodation. 

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) said it has received formal notice of the appeal from the State.

“When the Commission began its case in December 2023, there were 259 international protection applicants left unaccommodated. By the time of hearing of the case in May, that number had risen to 1715,” the IHREC said in a statement.

“As of today, 2897 people remain unaccommodated by the State.”

The IHREC had argued that the State was in breach of the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights and the Irish Constitution.

When the court ruled in favour of the IHREC in August, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) welcomed the decision saying the Irish Government had to take “immediate action to provide accommodation to all asylum seekers”.

During three days of hearings in May, the State argued that it could not accommodate asylum seekers “at the drop of a hat” and that the number of asylum seekers and refugees in State accommodation had increased 11-fold in just two years.

Counsel for the State told the court that Ireland had made up for the lack of accommodation by “significantly enhancing” its approach to asylum seekers who were left homeless.

“The number of unaccommodated international protection applicants has continued to rise since we took this case last December,” said Michael O’Neill, head of legal at the IHREC.

“Once again, so many are facing into an Irish winter without accommodation and we are cognisant of the deteriorating weather conditions in the coming days.

“This was a humanitarian emergency last year and it remains so today. It is imperative that every person arriving in Ireland seeking international protection has their basic needs met, including accommodation, food and access to medical care and hygiene facilities.”