The Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of the State after it challenged a High Court ruling regarding the rights of International Protection applicants to have their basic needs, including accommodation, met by the State.
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) used its legal power under the 2014 Act - under which it was established - to commence a judicial review in respect of International Protection applicants who were not offered accommodation when they made their asylum claim.
A year ago, the High Court ruled that the men had their right to human dignity breached by the State, through its failure to provide for their basic needs and it found that the Charter of Fundamental Rights under European law had been breached.
The State appealed the decision on a number of grounds, including the interpretation and/or the application of the 2014 Act by IHREC; the standard and the burden of proof that the High Court applied; and failure regarding relevant considerations, such as the additional needs payment made available which amounts to €113.80 per week.
In his judgment published this morning, Mr Justice Anthony M Collins acknowledged the commission's "express statutory entitlement" to commence proceedings for the purpose of obtaining relief in respect of any matter concerning the human rights of any person or class of persons.
The court found that the evidence provided by IHREC from a small sample of homeless IP applicants was insufficient to prove that those conditions of extreme material poverty undermined the physical and mental health of the 2,800 IP applicants who were subject to the case, to the degree that it breached their right to human dignity.
The Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Minister Jim O'Callaghan welcomed the decision of the Court of Appeal to uphold the State's appeal of the original High Court ruling.
According to a statement, the minister and the department takes the safety and welfare of all people who are seeking international protection seriously.
It pointed out that the State is currently accommodating almost 33,000 people in over 300 international protection accommodation centres around the country.
While it said the demand for IPAS accommodation "remains very high", the rate of increase in new applications for International Protection has reduced.
This has resulted in a review of cases by IPAS since March which has resulted in offers being made to those who have been waiting longest for accommodation.
"This review has reduced the number of unaccommodated people from over 3,500 in March to 942 in July 2025. Depending on availability of spaces and numbers of new applicants, we hope to continue to make offers of accommodation to more people over the coming weeks and months," it said.
The department added that it is working towards developing "a more stable and sustainable accommodation system" in the long term.
It said significant efforts were under way to source and acquire longer-term international protection accommodation facilities, to increase State-owned accommodation in line with the Government’s Comprehensive Accommodation Strategy and the Programme for Government.
There have been 43% fewer applications in the first six months of 2025 compared to the first six months of 2024.
