The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (‘The Commission’) has received formal notice from the State that it has lodged an appeal against a High Court judgment, delivered in August, on the rights of international protection applicants to have their basic needs, including accommodation, met by the State. The judgment found that in failing to provide accommodation for international protection applicants, the State had breached their human right to dignity. When the Commission began its case in December 2023, there were 259 international protection applicants left unaccommodated. By the time of hearing of the case in May, that number had risen to 1715. As of today, 2897 people remain unaccommodated by the State. Michael O’Neill, Head of Legal at the Commission said, “The number of unaccommodated international protection applicants has continued to rise since we took this case last December. 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. This was a humanitarian emergency last year and it remains so today. It is imperative that every person arriving in Ireland seeking international protection has their basic needs meet, including accommodation, food and access to medical care and hygiene facilities.” Given that the Appeal against the August ruling has now been lodged, we will not make further comment on the substance of the case until it has concluded. ENDS/ Editor Notes For further information, please contact: Sarah Clarkin, IHREC Communications Manager, 01 852 9641 / 087 468 7760 sarah.clarkin@ihrec.ie Follow us on twitter @_IHREC 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 s