On 01 August 2024, the High Court ruled that the Irish State failed in its duty to provide for the basic needs of international protection applicants, breaching their right to dignity. This case related to the difficulties encountered by the State in providing accommodation to applicants for international protection within the timeframe of December 2023 and May 2024.
The judgment was delivered after the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) took a case against the government regarding its adherence to its obligations towards newly arrived international protection applicants who were not provided with accommodation between December 2023 and May 2024.
The court was asked to decide if a failure to provide accommodation to newly arrived international protection applicants is unlawful and a breach of their right to dignity. 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.
In his judgment, Mr Justice Barry O’Donnell found 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”. The court found that the current State response to the needs of international protection applicants is inadequate – particularly in light of a lack of accommodation, and that this breaches Article One of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union which guarantees a right to dignity. However, the court did not grant the mandatory orders requested as the High Court accepted that the State is making strenuous efforts to redress the situation for unaccommodated applicants and that the steps that the State has taken, albeit not sufficient to avoid a breach of the rights of applicants, demonstrate that the State did not intend to ignore the court orders.
As of 06 August 2024, a total of 4,685 male IPAs have presented to the International Protection Office in need of accommodation since 04 December 2023. 459 of these were offered accommodation following a vulnerability triage, while 1,835 were subsequently offered accommodation. 2,391 were still awaiting an officer of accommodation as of 06 August 2024.
