Skip to content

High Court rules that the State has failed in its duty to provide for basic needs of international protection applicants, breaching their right to dignity The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (the ‘Commission’) has welcomed today’s High Court judgment, confirming that the State has failed in its duty to provide for the basic needs, including accommodation, for international protections applicants (‘IP applicants’) who have recently arrived in Ireland seeking asylum. These judicial review proceedings were brought by the Commission, in its own name, against the State. They were brought in respect of a class of persons, in this case IP applicants who were not offered accommodation when they made their asylum claim. The Commission sought declarations from the High Court that the failure to provide for the basic needs of IP applicants breached their human rights. The Commission also sought mandatory orders from the High Court to compel the State to fulfil its legal obligations to provide for the basic needs of IP applicants. This includes the provision of accommodation, food and access to basic hygiene facilities. On the breach of human rights , Mr Justice Barry O’Donnell ruled that: “Applicants for international protection in the State have a well-established fundamental right to have their human dignity respected and protected, including by being provided with 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.” He continued: “The court is satisfied that the current State response to the needs of IP applicants who are acknowledged to be without accommodation is inadequate to the point that the rights of the class of person concerned in these proceedings under Article 1 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union have been breached by the State. As noted by the CJEU in clear and unequivocal terms in Saciri and Haqbin, a failure to provide for the basic needs of applicants amounts to a breach of their right to human dignity.” Accordingly, he granted a declaration that: “the State’s failure to provide for the basic needs of newly arrived international protection applicants between 4 December 2023 and 10 May 2024, whether by way of the provision of accommodation, shelter, food and basic hygiene facilities or otherwise, is in breach of that class of persons rights pursuant to Article 1 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.” Mr Justice O’Donnell was satisfied by the grant of the declaration was sufficient to remedy the human rights breaches and considered that it was not necessary to grant the mandatory order. The Commission welcomes the finding by Mr Justice O’Donnell that: “The court further accepts that the evidence from the sample of unaccommodated IP applicants, taken with the general evidence from the Commission and NGO witnesses, establishes that the consequences of an inability to access basic needs, particularly housing and hygiene services, is that those persons are left in a deeply vulnerable and frightening position that undermines their human dignity.” Michael O’Neill, Head of Legal, Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission said: “The Commission welcomes this significant judgment. Not only has the Court clarified important points of law, but critically, it has recognised that the State’s failure to meet the basic needs of IP applicants has put them in a deeply vulnerable position where they cannot live in dignity and security. "When we began these proceedings in December, 259 IPAs were unaccommodated by the State. That number now stands at 2352. The Commission notes the expectation of the Court that the State will comply with its decision.” END/

Editor Notes

You can access the full judgment here For further information, please contact: Karen Joynt, IHREC 01 859 2605 / 087 448 2963 Karen.Joynt@ihrec.ie Follow us on twitter @_IHREC The Commission’s engagement on the rights of International Protection Applicants Since January 2023, the Commission has consistently raised its concern regarding the issue of the lack of provision for the basic needs for International Protection Applicants. It has sought to address this through various mechanisms, including writing to the Minister on a number of occasions, as well as several public statements setting out its concerns.

The Power of the Commission to Initiate Proceedings The Commission’s function under section 10(1) of the 2014 Act include

  • to protect and promote human rights and equality
  • to encourage the development of a culture of respect for human rights, equality and intercultural understanding in the State,
  • to promote understanding and awareness of the importance of human rights and equality in the State,
  • to encourage good practice in intercultural relations, to promote tolerance and acceptance of diversity in the State and respect for the freedom and dignity of each person, and
  • to work towards the elimination of human rights abuses, discrimination and prohibited conduct.

In furtherance of these functions, the Commission has the power “where is sees fit, to institute proceedings under section 41 or section 19 of the Act of 2003, as may be appropriate.” Section 41 of the 2014 Act provides:

  • The Commission may institute proceedings in any court of competent jurisdiction for the purpose of obtaining relief of a declaratory or other nature in respect of any matter concerning the human rights of any person or class of persons.
  • The declaratory relief the Commission may seek to obtain in such proceedings includes relief by way of a declaration that an enactment or a provision thereof is invalid having regard to the provisions of the Constitution or was not continued in force by Article 50 of the Constitution.

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is an independent public body, appointed by the President and directly accountable to the Oireachtas. The Commission has a statutory remit set out under the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act (2014) to protect and promote human rights and equality in Ireland, and build a culture of respect for human rights, equality and intercultural understanding in the State. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is Ireland’s national human rights institution and is recognised as such by the United Nations. The Commission is also Ireland’s national equality body for the purpose of a range of EU anti-discrimination measures