Former Supreme Court judge calls for end to asylum seekers’ work ban

Former Supreme Court judge Catherine McGuinness will today call for Ireland’s absolute ban on letting asylum seekers work to be scrapped, The Irish Times reports.

Ms Justice McGuinness will tell the Asylum Seekers Right to Work conference later: “The outright ban on such people seeking employment leaves them deprived of the self-respect that comes from self-support and must now in the interests of justice and decency be ended.”

Today’s conference addresses the implementation of May’s Supreme Court ruling that the absolute ban in section 9(4) of the Refugee Act 1996 is unconstitutional. The Government has been given a deadline of 30 November to consider its response.

In a statement to The Irish Times, the Department of Justice said the State will make submissions to the court at the “appropriate time”.

An inter-departmental working group was established in June to examine the judgement and propose appropriate solutions.

The Department of Justice said: “In many EU member states, the right to work is not an unfettered right for applicants, often arising after a particular period of time, usually nine months to a year.

“In many instances, access may be limited to particular job categories or may lead to the withdrawal of other financial supports. All of these matters are being carefully considered by the taskforce.”