Asylum seekers left without accommodation on arrival into the State are “placed in a situation of extreme material poverty”, but the State’s human rights watchdog failed to prove they are in “a state of degradation incompatible with human dignity”, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
The judgment, published on Wednesday, overturns a High Court finding that the State’s failure to provide accommodation for homeless asylum seekers was a breach of their fundamental right to dignity.
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) had brought the case in respect of a class of people, namely international protection applicants, who were not offered accommodation when they made their asylum claims having recently arrived in Ireland.
The State’s appeal of the High Court’s ruling was heard in March.
READ MORE
When the State-funded IHREC began its case in December 2023, there were 259 international protection applicants left unaccommodated. As of July 14th, there were 1,333 male international protection applicants, or asylum seekers, “awaiting offer of accommodation”, Department of Justice data show.
Since December 2023, when the policy of not guaranteeing accommodation to single, male adult asylum seekers accommodation on arrival began, a total of 9,763 have presented to make international protection applications. Accommodation was offered to 1,391 on arrival – generally those triaged as “vulnerable”. Offers were made subsequent to their arrival in the cases of 7,039 men.
In lieu of accommodation this cohort is provided with a weekly allowance of €113.80 along with information on charities providing food and tents. International protection applicants are not entitled to emergency accommodation.
In their judgment, the three judges said the commission had “taken on the task of proving” these men had been left “in a situation of extreme material poverty” that amounted to “a state of degradation incompatible with human dignity”.
They found evidence brought by the commission was “inconclusive as to the adequacy” of the arrangements the State had made for the “food, clothing and hygiene needs” of homeless asylum seekers.
Describing this as an “evidential deficit” they said: “This court is simply not in a position to conclude that a combination of the availability of the various State payments and access to day services failed to meet the basic food, clothing and/or hygiene needs of the members of that class such that they suffered extreme material poverty contrary to article one of the [European] Charter [of Fundamental Rights].”
Writing for the court, Mr Justice Anthony M Collins, said he believes a separate landmark High Court decision, from April 2023, was “incorrect” to find there was a breach of a male asylum seeker’s fundamental right to dignity under the charter due to the State’s failure to provide him with accommodation.
Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan said his department takes the safety of all international protection applicants “seriously”.
Since March the number of homeless protection applicants has reduced “from over 3,500”, he said.
“We are working towards developing a more stable and sustainable accommodation system in the long term. Significant efforts are under way to source and acquire longer-term international protection accommodation facilities in order to increase State-owned accommodation.”
The human rights commission said: “We welcome the fact that the court has confirmed that IHREC has proved that the State had placed international protection applicants in a position of extreme material poverty.”
“The court has also clearly confirmed IHREC’s entitlement to bring a case of this nature.
“The court has gone on to state that evidence provided by IHREC from a small sample of homeless IP [international protection] applicants was insufficient to prove that those conditions of extreme material poverty undermined the physical and mental health of the 2,800 IP applicants who were the subject of this case to the degree that it breached their right to human dignity.’
It would fully consider the judgment before commenting further.
