The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) has announced it will contest the State’s appeal against a significant High Court judgment which found Ireland had failed to provide for the basic needs of international protection applicants.
The appeal hearings, scheduled for today and tomorrow, center on the High Court ruling that determined the State had breached human rights law by failing to house nearly 3,000 people who sought international protection in Ireland since 2023.
In the original judgment, Justice Barry O’Donnell established that asylum seekers have a “well-established fundamental right to have their human dignity respected and protected,” which includes provision of “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.”
The State filed its appeal in November 2024, arguing that it could not accommodate asylum seekers “at the drop of a hat” and citing an eleven-fold increase in the number of asylum seekers and refugees in State accommodation over just two years.
IHREC commissioner Liam Herrick stated that the commission maintains “people applying for international protection have a right to adequate shelter and basic living conditions under national and EU law.” He added, “We look forward to defending the High Court’s ruling and to assisting the Court of Appeal in its deliberation of these issues.”
According to The Journal, the situation has deteriorated significantly since the case began. When the IHREC initiated proceedings in December 2023, there were 259 international protection applicants without accommodation. As of this week, that number has increased dramatically to 3,512 people awaiting an offer of accommodation by the State.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) previously welcomed the High Court ruling and called on the Irish Government to take “immediate action to provide accommodation to all asylum seekers.”
The outcome of this appeal will have significant implications for Ireland’s approach to accommodating and supporting those seeking international protection in the country.