Appeal hearings begin in asylum seeker accommodation case
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Liam Herrick
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is defending an appeal by the State against a High Court judgment which found that a failure to provide asylum seekers with accommodation breached their right to human dignity.
Mr Justice Barry O’Donnell ruled in August 2024 that the State had failed in its duty to provide for the basic needs, including accommodation, of international protection (IP) applicants, thereby breaching their right to dignity.
The Commission had brought the High Court case in its own name in respect of a class of persons, namely IP applicants who were not offered accommodation when they made their asylum claim having recently arrived in Ireland.
The State lodged its appeal to that ruling in November 2024, which is being fully contested by the Commission.
The Court of Appeal is hearing the case today and tomorrow.
When the Commission began its case in December 2023, there were 259 international protection applicants left unaccommodated. As of this week, 3,512 are awaiting an offer of accommodation by the State.
Chief commissioner Liam Herrick said: “The Commission continues to maintain that people applying for international protection have a right to adequate shelter and basic living conditions under national and EU law.
“We look forward to defending the High Court’s ruling and to assisting the Court of Appeal in its deliberation of these issues.”
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