Asylum

The number of pending asylum decisions in the UK has reached an unprecedented 175,457 as of June 2023 — a 44 per cent increase from the 122,213 reported in June 2022. The new figure from the Home Office surpasses the previous peak in 1999 during Tony Blair's tenure as prime minister when 125,1

New UK legislation restricting the right to claim asylum sets a "worrying precedent" which could undermine asylum rights around the world, the UN has warned. The Illegal Migration Bill was given final approval in Parliament on Monday night in spite of sustained criticism from international bodies an

The suspension of visa-free travel to Ireland for refugees has been extended by ministers for a further 12 months. The government last year suspended the operation of a Council of Europe agreement on the abolition of visas for refugees on a "temporary" basis — a decision described as "shameful

An "ambitious" target to make 1,000 initial asylum decisions per month by next spring is at the centre of new government plans to modernise Ireland's international protection system. The International Protection Modernisation Programme 2023–2024, published by justice minister Helen McEntee yes

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has determined that a child return order under the Hague Convention should not have been stayed pending the outcome of his mother’s UK asylum appeal application. The court highlighted that the return order was directed towards Switzerland, the child&rsq

A new book published by the Irish Refugee Council and launched with support from A&L Goodbody reflects on the "power of protection" in Ireland over three decades.

Funding of €1.3 million to support children, young people and families in the international protection system has been announced. A new funding model aims to enable the Children and Young People's Services Committees (CYPSC) to enhance and expand their delivery of support services, with up to &

Refugee and migration law expert Professor Cathryn Costello has been appointed as full professor of law at UCD Sutherland School of Law. Professor Costello is currently professor of fundamental rights and co-director of the Centre for Fundamental Rights at the Hertie School in Berlin, and Andrew W.

The High Court has ruled that the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) erred in law by excluding a Russian man from international protection based on claims that he had committed a serious non-political crime. The man claimed that he feared being persecuted by the Russian authorities, al

A new UN report has urged the Irish government to legislate to recognise stateless people and protect their rights. The Mapping Statelessness in Ireland report launched today by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, notes that Ireland has ratified the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Pers

The High Court has ruled that the State failed to comply with its legal obligations to meet the basic needs of an Afghan refugee on his arrival to Ireland. The boy was under 18 years old when he came to Ireland but he had no documentation and was refused accommodation. Delivering judgment in the cas

Ireland has been found to be in breach of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union for the first time in a case concerning State failures to provide accommodation to asylum seekers. The High Court ruled on Friday that the State's failure to provide accommodation, food and basic hygien

Northern Ireland’s High Court has determined that the Secretary of State for the Home Department (SSHD) may have breached its duty towards an asylum seeker in failing to provide her with a timely and accessible weekly allowance payment for a period of almost two months. The applicant was an as

The High Court has held that the parents of a child who was awaiting a decision on his international protection status did not have the right to work in the State while the application was being processed. It was said that the child had the right to access the labour market and that this could be ef

New UK government plans to deport asylum seekers who arrive irregularly and exclude them from modern slavery and human rights protections have been sharply criticised by lawyers and human rights campaigners. Home Secretary Suella Braverman KC yesterday introduced the Illegal Migration Bill, which pr