Courts

Human rights body’s case around homeless male asylum seekers to proceed this month

State’s lawyers tell court an operation to move homeless applicants this week took ‘enormous’ planning

The court was told the operation this week to move asylum seekers from Mount Street required an “enormous amount of planning”. Photograph: Dara MacDónaill
The court was told the operation this week to move asylum seekers from Mount Street required an “enormous amount of planning”. Photograph: Dara MacDónaill
Ellen O'Riordan
Fri May 03 2024 - 15:34

The High Court has refused the State’s request to delay the hearing of a human rights body’s challenge over male asylum seekers being left homeless.

Ms Justice Niamh Hyland directed that the hearing of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commissions’ (IHREC’s) case will go ahead as planned at the end of this month and not be postponed by two or three weeks.

The State’s lawyers asked for it to be put back to June because they have received 1,000 pages of documentation from the IHREC.

David Conlan Smyth SC, for the State, said an operation conducted on Wednesday to move asylum seekers from Mount Street, Dublin, close to the site of the International Protection Office, required an “enormous amount of planning”.

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These matters have contributed to a delay in the State’s ability to complete its legal papers for the case, he said. Preparing for the trial to run at the end of May 29th would be “possible but very burdensome”, he added.

The IHREC’s senior counsel, Patricia Brazil, opposed the application, arguing urgency remains and the legal issues in the case have been clear since the beginning.

She said the State’s data shows there were more than 1,800 unaccommodated international protection applicants at the beginning of the week. Some 300 of those received accommodation following the relocation operation on Wednesday, she said.

When the action first came to court there were just in excess of 200 single male applicants without accommodation, she said.

Mr Conlan Smyth said the figure provided by the IHREC, of 1,500 unaccommodated applicants, was “simply not matched” by the situation on the ground. The issues in the case are novel and complex, he added.

Ms Justice Hyland said a date for the hearing in June would not be suitable. Although there have been some new factual developments, these have a limited bearing on the matters at issue, she said.

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She told the IHREC it must identify before the hearing exactly how many people are represented in its application as the court cannot proceed on a “floating” basis.

The case marks the first time the commission has used its powers, under section 41 of the 2014 IHREC Act, to bring representative proceedings concerning the human rights of a person or class of people in certain instances.

The State – named in the action as the Minister for Integration, the Attorney General and Ireland – is contesting the case and denies it is failing to meet its obligations.

The court has heard previously that the State is providing unaccommodated asylum seekers with €113.80 per week, along with other supports.

The IHREC alleges Ireland is failing to provide suitable reception conditions to meet the basic needs of all asylum seekers.

Ellen O'Riordan

Ellen O'Riordan

Ellen O'Riordan is High Court Reporter with The Irish Times