Two Somali nationals are entitled to the costs of their legal challenges to orders removing them from Ireland, after the cases were rendered moot when the State failed to enact the orders within the statutory time period.
At the High Court on Friday, Judge Anthony Barr ruled that the two plaintiffs, who are unrelated, should be awarded their costs for judicial reviews against the Return Orders, as the State did not enact them inside the required six-month period, reports Breaking News.
The legal challenges were taken by the two applicants against the Minister for Justice, Ireland and the Attorney General over the costs of their application to have the Return Orders judicially reviewed.
Judge Barr, in ruling in favour of the two applicants, said the matter had become moot, thereby rendering the judicial review challenge proceedings inoperable, reports Breaking News.
The judge said the Chief State Solicitor had written to the applicants saying the matter, due to delay, could be struck out with no order as to costs — meaning both the State and the applicants were responsible for their own legal fees.
However, the applicants did not accede to this and pursued their costs, arguing there was a “unilateral” failing by the State to execute the return orders, reports Breaking News.
Judge Barr said the first applicant, a female, had been issued with a return order to leave the State on 30 April 2025, but was then granted leave by the High Court to challenge the order on 2 September that year, with the State being notified of the permission to challenge ten days later.
Her proceedings were declared moot on 8 November 2025, reports Breaking News.
The male applicant had been issued with a return order on 28 May 2025 but obtained leave to challenge the order on 15 September 2025.
His return order challenge was declared moot on 5 December 2025, reports Breaking News.
In his judgment, Judge Barr said: “The facts of these two cases are relatively straightforward. Each applicant was served with a return order that they would be removed from the State to a third country.”
“The Minister, for whatever reason, had not executed the return order during the period of its operative validity,” said the judge, reports Breaking News.
He added that “the court has not been told why the return order in each case was not executed.”
Judge Barr said there was a “unilateral” failing of the State — making the proceedings moot — and he was “satisfied” that this was due to the State’s “inaction,” thereby making both applicants entitled to their costs for their separate legal challenges, reports Breaking News.
Judge Barr said there were no extraneous events affecting the case and that neither applicant had acted in any way to disentitle them from their costs.
He ordered that costs, in default of agreement, should be awarded to the Somali applicants for the preparation and proceedings of their respective judicial reviews, limited to the dates when each became moot, reports Breaking News.
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