Asylum

Carson McDowell solicitor Sophie Hunter examines an English court decision with implications for the accommodation of asylum seekers across the UK, including in Northern Ireland. Epping Forest District Council have secured an interim injunction requiring the owners of the Bell Hotel to stop using, o

DLA Piper's annual "Know Your Rights" programme for asylum seekers and refugees in Ireland is returning next month. Delivered in partnership with the Irish Refuge Council and Deloitte, the free eight-week legal education course seeks to empower people seeking protection and refugees to better unders

The UK government is planning a major shake-up of the asylum appeals system in a bid to reduce the number of appellants being housed in hotels while they await rulings. Home secretary Yvette Cooper said she would establish a new body staffed by independent adjudicators to address what she called &ld

Ireland cannot evade its obligation to accommodate international protection applicants on the basis that a large influx has exhausted its housing capacity, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled. The court today handed down a landmark judgment following a preliminary reference m

The children's ombudsman has been forced to suspend visits to direct provision centres due to "insufficient resources". Correspondence released to The Irish Times under freedom of information legislation reveals that the ombudsman's office requested additional funding from the Department of Children

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has said it is weighing up whether to appeal after the Court of Appeal overturned a finding that the State breached international protection applicants' right to dignity. Mr Justice Anthony Collins yesterday ruled that while the State had failed to prov

The Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal against a High Court declaration to the effect that the State failed to provide for the needs of newly arrived international protection applicants in breach of their human rights. Delivering judgment for the Court of Appeal, Mr Justice Anthony Collins consid

The Supreme Court has allowed an appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal which permitted a severed order of certiorari in respect of a decision of the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT). Delivering judgment for the Supreme Court, Ms Justice Iseult O’Malley emphasised t

Asylum claims from Pakistani nationals are to be prioritised with effect from today. Pakistan has been added to the list of countries subject to accelerated processing for international protection applications.

The High Court has decided that in light of a ministerial announcement that the government no longer intends to set up an IPAS accommodation centre on the former Crown Paints site in Coolock, most of the issues in a legal challenge were rendered moot and the court will not hear them. Delivering an e

Plans to limit asylum seekers' access to legal advice and representation are likely to be challenged in the EU courts, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has said. The rights body has today published its initial analysis of the general scheme of the International Protection Bill 2025, wh

The Citywest Hotel and Convention Centre is to be purchased by the State for continued use as asylum accommodation, the government has confirmed. The site has been leased by the State since 2020, initially as part of the Covid-19 response and since 2022 as a transit hub and accommodation centre for

Legislative plans for the "most significant reform of Irish asylum laws in the history of the State" have been set out by the minister for justice. Jim O'Callaghan yesterday secured government approval to publish the general scheme of the International Protection Bill 2025, which will ultimately rep

Justice minister Jim O’Callaghan is to open a series of reception centres to deal with asylum applications from certain countries within three months of people making a claim, The Sunday Times reports. Under the plans, which constitute the most significant revision of the immigration system in

The European Commission has proposed that 16 countries should be considered "safe countries of origin" for the purposes of asylum claims across the EU. The first-ever EU list of safe countries of origin would include Kosovo, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Morocco and Tunisia, as well as all EU