Asylum seekers will soon be entitled to damages from the State for failing to provide them with accommodation, while homeless people will have no such right, Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan has said.
Such a situation will be the result of an expected decision by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), he warned.
The court appears likely to rule that asylum seekers have a right to damages if the State fails to provide accommodation on their arrival, as has happened in thousands of instances recently.
Such a decision would be “very hard to justify” to Irish citizens and other member states, the Minister said.
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Mr O’Callaghan was critical of various aspects of the existing asylum system, which he said has emerged over the years in a “haphazard” and “organic” fashion.
He was speaking at the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) on the topic of balancing human rights in the area of justice and migration.
The Fianna Fáil TD was particularly critical of a case brought on behalf of two asylum seekers who had been left sleeping rough as the State was unable to provide them with beds.
The State has strongly contested the case, which is now being considered by the ECJ. It argued a huge surge in asylum applications in the context of an unprecedented housing and accommodation crisis constituted a force majeure where the accommodation needs of all asylum seekers could not be met.
Last year, about 3,400 male asylum seekers were left without beds after arriving in Ireland, a number that now stands at about 1,400.
In April, a legal adviser to the ECJ published an opinion that rejected the State’s argument.
The court tends to follow the opinions of its legal advisers in its judgments, meaning it is likely to find against the State and rule that asylum seekers left without accommodation are entitled to damages.
Such a decision would mean “people in Ireland who are entitled to be on social housing lists or homeless lists” would not be entitled to damages, while asylum seekers who had just arrived would be entitled to damages if they are left sleeping rough.
“That will be a very consequential decision that will be very hard to justify, not just to citizens of Ireland but of all member states.”
He said the State “should try to ensure that in trying to vindicate certain rights we do not marginalise or demote other equally legitimate rights.”
The right to apply for asylum “does not and cannot equate to a right to asylum”, he said.
Asylum laws are there to “protect the persecuted”. It is legitimate for people to want to seek a better life for their families but that is not the purpose of asylum, he said.
Nick Henderson, chief executive of the Irish Refugee Council, said the Minister’s suggestion that supporting one group harms another group “does not reflect the facts and issues in this case”.
“Framing the case in this way, in the current political environment, is deeply unfortunate and risks pitting one group of people against another,” he said.
One of the applicants in the case was represented by the Irish Refugee Council Independent Law Centre, Mr Henderson said, adding that the male experienced “72 days of street homelessness, hunger and fear in Ireland” after applying for international protection and being told that there was no accommodation for him.
At the IIEA, Mr O’Callaghan also revealed plans to overhaul the laws around the wiretapping and digital surveillance. The existing laws date to 1993 and do not account for advances in technology, such as encrypted communications, emails and social media channels.
Garda surveillance powers are needed to prevent terrorism and large-scale loss of life, he said.
The Minister said the current law does not allow for State agencies to carry out lawful interceptions of popular encrypted digital-based messaging and voice calling services. This is a matter of “significant concern”.
He also criticised the slow progress at EU level in bringing in a child sexual abuse regulation that would obligate telecommunications companies to automatically scan for the presence of abuse material on their networks.
“Many companies are simply not doing enough to address the proliferation of this material on their platforms.”
