Ireland broke international law by failing to provide basic services to asylum seekers, the European Court of Justice has ruled.
Asylum seekers were not provided with housing because Irish authorities said it lacked accommodation places. Instead, migrants were each issued with a voucher worth €25.
Two asylum seekers – an Afghan national and an Indian national – took a case against the Department for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth which was subsequently referred to the European Court of Justice.
This morning judges in Luxembourg ruled that the government breached EU law by failing to provide “minimum reception conditions”.
The lack of housing meant migrants were forced to live “for a number of weeks in precarious conditions”, the court said.
Without housing provision, the asylum seekers were also not eligible for a daily allowance provided for by Irish law.
“They therefore slept on the streets or, occasionally, in precarious accommodation.”
“They have indicated that they went short of food, were not in a position to maintain their personal hygiene and were placed in a situation involving distress in view of their respective living conditions and the instances of violence faced by each of them”, the court says.
During the case, the Irish government accepted it had broken EU law, but said it did so due to “force majeure”.
The government said it experienced a “mass influx” following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, leading to an exhaustion of housing capacity.
In its judgment, the court said EU member states are required to guarantee applicants for international protection with suitable reception conditions which “ensure an adequate standard of living, whether through housing, financial aid, vouchers, or a combination of the three.”
“Those conditions must cover basic needs, including appropriate accommodation, and safeguard the physical and mental health of the persons concerned.”
Aside from EU law, Ireland also has an “obligation to respect human dignity enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights”, the European court said.
The case will now return to Ireland’s High Court which will also consider whether migrants have a right to compensation.
When contacted for a reaction, the Department for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth said it was no longer responsible for the matter.
“The Department of Children, Disability and Equality is no longer responsible for integration matters, in line with the new Programme for Government.”
“As of 1st May 2025, our integration function (including International Protection and Ukraine) has transferred to the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration said in a statement:
“The Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration notes the judgment in relation to this case and the judgement is being examined.
There has been significant pressure on the State to source suitable international protection accommodation to provide basic needs for people entitled to it under EU and Irish law. This is particularly the case since 2022, when a sharp increase in applications in Ireland commenced.
The State is currently accommodating almost 33,000 people in over 320 international protection accommodation centres around the country. By comparison, in August 2021, our system was accommodating approximately 7,000 people, meaning that IPAS has increased capacity by more than 400% in that time.
Despite intensive efforts, due to shortages of accommodation the State was unable to offer accommodation to all people seeking international protection since 4th December 2023. The Minister and the Department takes the safety and welfare of all people who are seeking international protection very seriously and there has been concerted efforts across government to address this issue.
While the demand for IPAS accommodation remains very high, the rate of increase in new applications for international protection has reduced since October 2024. Since March 2025, IPAS [The International Protection Accommodation Service, the state service which provides accommodation to people applying for international protection] has begun reviewing the cases of people who are awaiting an offer of accommodation and make offers to those who have been waiting longest.
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.
We have also put arrangements in place with a range of NGO partners to provide drop-in day services so people can access facilities including hot showers, meals and laundry services. IPAS also makes offers of accommodation to any applicant who is rough-sleeping, identified through outreach that we organise 7 days a week. People who are not offered accommodation are given a weekly allowance of €113.80 per week, an increase of €75 from the standard weekly allowance for asylum-seekers.
We are working hard toward developing a more stable and sustainable accommodation system in the long-term. Huge efforts are underway to source and bring into use suitable longer-term international protection accommodation facilities, in line with the Government’s Comprehensive Accommodation Strategy.”