The High Court ruled in August on a case brought by the Commission in its own name which related to a large group of international protection applicants who were left unaccommodated by the State when they presented seeking asylum.

The court declared that the men had their right to human dignity breached by the State through its failure to provide for their basic needs.

The number on unaccommodated international protection applicants has risen from 259 when the Commission began its case in December 2023 to 1,715 by the time of the hearing in May — and 2,822 as of this week.

The Commission has been told that new High Court proceedings will be necessary should it wish to pursue any inaction by the State to remedy the situation following the judgment in August.

Michael O’Neill, the Commission’s head of legal, said: “These proceedings would never have been necessary if the State had complied with its legal obligations to provide international protection applicants with their basic needs.

“It is unacceptable that, 10 weeks on from this important ruling, so little has been achieved by the State.

“The High Court made its ruling on the premise that the State would act. The Commission now regards this as raising a worrying rule of law issue.

“There are real people at the heart of this issue who are seeking protection. Instead, they are exposed to the elements, to hunger, a lack of washing facilities, and other basic needs, in some cases for months, alongside an ongoing threat to their personal safety.

“This is ultimately a human emergency and we call on the State to meaningfully engage with this issue once and for all, to ensure that not one refugee finds themselves in this situation.”