A South African family seeking asylum in Ireland has gone to court to challenge the State's decision to move them from hotel accommodation in Co Wicklow to temporary accommodation in Co Mayo at a week’s notice.
The family, who have three young children, arrived in the State in July.
They say the decision to move them to what they say is unsuitable accommodation is irrational and unreasonable when the children had only recently started school in Wicklow and had begun settling in the local community.
They say they believe they have been treated in an inhumane manner and the children have now been left bereft of education, activities and friends, causing a serious impact on their wellbeing.
They cannot be named by order of the court to protect the children’s identity.
The family at the centre of this case arrived in Ireland in the middle of July.
The mother, father and their three children, under 14 years old, sought international protection.
In a sworn document, the mother said this was due to extreme violence levelled against her and her family in South Africa.
She said it was an extremely difficult decision to seek asylum abroad but she did so out of fear for her own life as well as the lives of her husband and their children.
The woman said they were placed in accommodation in the Grand Hotel in Wicklow town. At first they were in a shared room but subsequently were given their own room where they lived until 19 October.
She said after being given their own room, the family began to settle into life and began trying to find out about schools, sports and activities in the town. The woman said she understood they would be in the hotel on a permanent basis.
The two younger children were enrolled in a local primary school in September where she said both settled well. It was more difficult to get a secondary school place for the oldest child but he started school on 10 October after the family paid around €300 for uniforms for him.
The father and two of the children became involved in a local sports club, which she said helped them to integrate into the community and make friends.
She said they were very grateful for the assistance given by the local community and the family felt secure that they could build a life for their children while progressing their claims for international protection.
On 13 October, she said they received a letter from International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS), the body responsible for providing accommodation to asylum seekers, notifying the family that they were to be moved to new accommodation the following week.
She said they were shocked and replied that they did not wish to be moved.
However, four days later they received a further letter to say they would be moving to the Breaffy Woods Hotel in Co Mayo on 19 October.
The family was brought to the new accommodation by bus and has been living there ever since. The woman said their new accommodation was in a cubicle in a sports arena at the hotel. She said it was completely unsuitable and freezing cold. There was little privacy and the children had been extremely traumatised.
She described them sleeping on their beds and generally disinterested in anything except watching videos on their phones. Their mother said they had lost all the friendships and activities they had built up.
The nearest shops and schools were around 5km away and the children were not in school. They had been left bereft of education, activities and friends she said.
Senior Counsel Tony McGillicuddy said despite a promise from IPAS to minimise disruption, the move could not have been any more disruptive. There had been no assessment of the necessity of the move and the family's rights under the constitution and the European Convention of Human Rights had been breached.
He said the children had not been mentioned at all in the communications from IPAS and it was extraordinary that there seemed to be no regard whatsoever for their needs.
In an affidavit, the family’s solicitor, Susan Doyle, said IPAS had written to the family to say the decision had been taken to "maximise the usage of the available accommodation portfolio at a time of immense and increasing pressure on their system".
IPAS said the Grand Hotel in Wicklow was now being used for "single males" only and that the Breaffy Woods Hotel was available for the use of families. But Ms Doyle said her instructions were that families continued to live in the Wicklow hotel while single people were also accommodated in Mayo.
The family want the court to order the State to move them back to Co Wicklow so they can resume school.
Mr Justice Brian O’Moore said he would adjourn the case until Thursday morning to allow the State defendants time to respond.
He also made an order preventing identification of the family until 1pm on Thursday.
