LAST UPDATE | 1 Aug

THE HIGH COURT has ruled that the State is in breach of human rights law by failing to house almost 3,000 people who have sought international protection in Ireland since last year.

The court made the ruling following a case taken by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) against the State last year.

The UN Refugee Agency, the UNHCR, has welcomed the ruling.

In a statement, it said the High Court has deemed that the ”State’s failure to provide for the basic needs of homeless asylum seekers is a breach of their fundamental rights, and in particular of their human dignity”.

The UNHCR has called on the Irish Government to take “immediate action to provide accommodation to all asylum seekers”.

It noted that the latest available figures indicate that 2,353 recently arrived asylum seekers remain without an offer of accommodation.

The case was heard over three days in May, when the commission sought a declaration by the court that the State is failing to adequately provide asylum seekers with shelter, food and access to basic hygiene facilities on top of a weekly allowance.

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.

In his judgment, Mr Justice Barry O’Donnell found that applicants for international protection in the State have a “well-established fundamental right to have their human dignity respected and protected, including by being provided with an adequate standard of living which guarantees their subsistence and protects their physical and mental health where they do not have sufficient means to provide for themselves”.

O’Donnell added that the “current state response” to the needs of international protection applicants is inadequate – particularly in light of a lack of accomodation. 

He found that this was a breach of Article One of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. This guarantees a right to dignity.

The judge also looks to Court of Justice of the European Union in two cases and states that this case law established that “a failure to provide for the basic needs of applicants amounts to a breach of their right to human dignity”.

The judgment goes on to grant a declaration that for “newly arrived international protection applicants between 4 December 2023 and 10 May 2024, whether by way of the provision of accommodation, shelter, food and basic hygiene facilities or otherwise, is in breach of that class of persons rights pursuant to Article 1 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.”

During the three-day hearing in May, IHREC told the court that there were “real risks to [the] physical security and health” of almost 3,000 asylum seekers who had been left homeless after not receiving an offer of accommodation from the State.

The court heard that the total weekly payment of €113.80 to homeless asylum seekers was “manifestly insufficient” to enable people to obtain accommodation, food and clothing on their own.

“The amount of financial allowances provided must be enough to meet the basic needs of asylum seekers, including a dignified standard of living,” counsel for the commission said.

In response, 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.

He said this included the provision of day services from four charities and the offer of an Additional Needs Payment, on top of a weekly payment of €113.80.

The judge will hear submissions on costs and the final formulation of the orders granted to the appellants in the case on 11 October next. 

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee defended the government’s record this afternoon.

Speaking to Newstalk FM’s The Hard Shoulder, McEntee said that the judge was “very clear” that “it’s not for a lack of Government trying”, claiming that there has been a “huge amount of effort” made to accommodate International Protection applicants.

“We’ve seen an astronomical increase in people coming to the country and seeking International Protection. “That’s on top of the tens of thousands of people who fled Ukraine,” she said.

She said the government acknowledges there have been people whom the government has not accommodated and said we “need to have State-provided accommodation” and larger accommodation centres.