The European Union’s Charter of Fundamental Rights is violated, according to the High Court, by the way the State is now responding to the requests of applicants for international protection, reports RTE.
This afternoon, Mr. Justice Barry O’Donnell delivered the ruling after a lawsuit brought by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) against the State for failing to uphold its duties to asylum seekers in Ireland.
The High Court was requested to rule on whether it is illegal and a violation of newly arrived asylum seekers’ right to dignity under Article 1 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which is focused on human dignity, if housing is not provided to them.
According to Justice O’Donnell, “the State has breached the rights of those persons as provided for in Article 1 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union” by neglecting to care for their fundamental requirements and abandoning IP applicants without housing or the means to seek housing, reports RTE.
The obligatory directives that the Commission requested were denied by the court.
According to Mr. Justice O’Donnell, the court was not persuaded that there was sufficient evidence to draw the conclusion that the State would disregard its duties.
“The State has made clear, and the court accepts, that it is making strenuous efforts to redress the situation,” he said, reports RTE.
The Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI) welcomed the High Court ruling.
It said: “It is disgraceful that we have a government that restricts the right to work for asylum seekers and fails to provide for their basic needs,” reports RTE.
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