The State has lodged an appeal against a High Court decision holding that the failure to provide for the basic needs of homeless asylum seekers is a breach of their fundamental rights.
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) on Tuesday confirmed the State’s appeal was lodged with the Court of Appeal.
The commission issued its challenge in December of last year after the Government announced for the second time that it could not accommodate all single adult male arrivals amid “unprecedented pressure” on services.
At that point 259 adult male applicants were awaiting an offer of accommodation. This figure now stands at 2,987, according to Department of Integration figures.
In a statement on Tuesday, IHREC’s head of legal, Michael O’Neill, said the number of unaccommodated applicants has continued to rise and the situation continues to be a “humanitarian emergency”.
“Once again, so many are facing into an Irish winter without accommodation and we are cognisant of the deteriorating weather conditions in the coming days,” he said.
Mr O’Neill said it is “imperative that every person seeking international protection in Ireland has their basic needs met, including accommodation, food and access to medical care and hygiene facilities.
Lawyers for the State-funded IHREC last month complained to the High Court that the Government had failed to address the points made in the August judgment.
Counsel for the Minister, Ireland and the Attorney General submitted that the situation for newly-arrived male asylum seekers had “improved considerably” in the preceding months, with the State’s International Protection Accommodation Services able to offer accommodation to everyone who was “actively rough sleeping”.
In the court’s August decision, Mr Justice Barry O’Donnell ruled that the State’s response to the needs of unaccommodated asylum seekers was “inadequate” to the point of breaching the men’s right to human dignity as set out in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU.
This “well-established fundamental right” includes receiving an adequate living standard that guarantees their subsistence and protects their health, the judge said.
IHREC’s case, brought on behalf of a cohort of homeless asylum seekers, followed on from a High Court decision delivered in April of last year which found the State breached its obligations to accommodate an Afghan asylum seeker.
His rights were breached, the court also held, saying a €28 voucher and the addresses of private charities in lieu of accommodation did “not come close to what is required” by the European Union (Reception Conditions) Regulations of 2018.
In response, the State raised the weekly expenses payment to those left homeless by €75 and made formal arrangements with charities to provide food and hygiene facilities.
IHREC’s subsequent case contended the €113.80 weekly allowance was still insufficient as it did not enable the men to source alternative shelter. The State parties argued the changes brought them into line.
