A LEGAL challenge by a mentally ill, homeless and destitute asylum seeker aimed at securing accommodation for him has been resolved on terms including the State's agreement to readmit him to its system of accommodation for asylum seekers.
The 35-year-old man, who fled Afghanistan and came here three years ago, had been sleeping in a factory in Dublin for almost three months. Last Friday the State agreed, following the bringing of legal proceedings, to provide interim accommodation for him on his undertaking to adhere to the rules of accommodation centres.
When the case came back before Mr Justice John Hedigan yesterday, he was told by Mel Christle SC, for the man, that it had been resolved "to the benefit of his welfare".
The judge congratulated both sides on resolving "this very difficult and very troubling" case. Mr Christle said they were grateful to the court for fast-tracking this urgent action.
Under the settlement, the State has agreed to readmit the man to the direct provision system of accommodation, administered by the Reception Integration Agency of the Department of Justice, and to accommodate him in a centre of its choosing. However, this excludes a centre in Limerick from which he was barred as a result of alleged violent behaviour by him.
The man's lawyers had complained he was given no opportunity to respond to the claims about his behaviour and was barred in circumstances where he was mentally ill, no other accommodation option was available, and he was not permitted to work.
Counsel for the State said the man's medical needs would also be taken into account as was the case with everyone in the system.
The settlement also provides that the man will continue his undertaking to comply with the rules and procedures relating to direct provision accommodation. The State will also pay the man's "reasonable" legal costs.
Because of the settlement, the court will not now determine the issues raised by the man in his substantive case, which was supported by the Irish Refugee Council IRC).
The council claimed the case illustrated that the State had effectively closed off all means to avoid homelessness for certain asylum seekers in breach of human rights laws.
In an affidavit, IRC chief executive Robin Hannan said the council and a range of other NGOs were increasingly concerned about the growing number of homeless asylum seekers here.
Mr Hannan said the council believed that many asylum seekers expelled from "direct provision" accommodation had mental health-related problems and could become a danger if rendered homeless and destitute.
The "direct provision" system, with its low subsistence allowance, ban on employment and "enforced isolation, inactivity and poverty", caused and exacerbated mental distress and instability, he added.
The man claimed there was effectively no appeal from decisions by the Reception Integration Agency refusing accommodation and no alternative options for persons refused. He also claimed the problem was exacerbated because Ireland had refused to incorporate the 2003 EU reception directive which ensures the right to "a dignified standard of living for asylum seekers".
According to the IRC, asylum seekers are generally not allowed to receive mainstream social welfare and are housed via the direct provision system which provides them with accommodation, board, some essentials and a weekly living allowance of €19.10 for adults and €9.60 for children. They are also prohibited from working.
