Figures released by government today show that a record 3,001 people seeking international protection are now without accommodation. 4 December 2024 marks one year since the commencement of the second no accommodation policy. The first policy ran from January 2023 to June 2023.

Since December 2023, 5,671 of 6,407 people seeking asylum have been refused accommodation with 3,001 still unaccommodated. Only 736 were immediately accommodated after a vulnerability triage.

In response to this bleak milestone, the Irish Refugee Council has expressed deep concern about the persistent failure of the State to address this crisis and called on the current administration and next government to take urgent action to resolve the situation. 

In addition, the Irish Refugee Council understands that the cold weather initiative, that began on the 15 November, will end on Wednesday 4 December. People temporarily accommodated have been asked to leave their accommodation by this date and newly arrived applicants will not be accommodated unless triaged as vulnerable.

Recent judgments of the High Court, (April and December 2023 and August 2024), found that Ireland is violating both Irish and European law by failing to provide reception conditions to people seeking protection. 

People forced to sleep rough are in increasingly unsanitary and risky situations, exposed to bad weather and attacks by anti-migrant elements and the far right.

In a report launched last week, titled ‘If I Don’t Do This, Then It Won’t Be Done - Volunteering with Homeless Protection Applicants’, volunteers detail the harrowing conditions they face while supporting protection applicants on Dublin’s streets. The report surveyed 49 volunteers assisting those seeking protection between January 2023 and October 2024, either on the streets of Dublin or in state-run emergency accommodation.

Irish Refugee Council CEO, Nick Henderson, said:

“We can’t continue to normalise homelessness and have the State effectively delegate its duties to volunteers and under resourced charities. It puts both people seeking protection and those helping them at risk of harm.

“The situation is a direct affront to Ireland’s commitment to human rights and dignity. Several High Court rulings have clearly stated the mandatory legal obligation to provide applicants with basic needs including accommodation and the insufficiency of the State’s current alternative offering.”

“We are also extremely concerned that, from tomorrow, people who were accommodated in City West during the cold weather initiative will be placed back on to the streets and that people newly arrived will not be offered accommodation unless they are deemed vulnerable. Met Eireann is forecasting a very unsettled spell of wet and very windy weather for the rest of this week.”

“We urge the current administration and moreover the new government, whatever form it may take, to act swiftly to create the needed capacity to restore the dignity and safety for people seeking protection.”

Notes to Editors

  • “If I Don’t Do This, Then It Won’t Be Done - Volunteering with Homeless Protection Applicants,” report that captures the experiences of volunteers supporting homeless applicants is available here.
  • The Irish Refugee Council has supported 644 people with critical information and advocacy since 4 December 2023. In the first period of homelessness between January and June 2023, the organisation supported a further 450 of the nearly 1,400 people affected.
  • The Irish Refugee Council's June 2023 report that captures the impact of homelessness among international protection applicants, “Now I live on the road,” is available here. 
  • Irish Refugee Council published an Accommodation Recommendations and Briefing Paper in December 2023 and is available here.
  • The recent High Court judgement in the case taken by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission that found the state in violation of the rights of homeless people seeking protection is available here.
  • The High Court's April 2023 judgment of Justice Meenan is here. 
  • The High Court’s December 2023 judgement of Justice Ferriter is here. Justice Ferriter stated: “As the review of the relevant law contained in this judgment makes clear, as a matter of EU law (as transposed into Irish law), the State remains under a continuing, mandatory obligation to provide international protection applicants with basic needs including accommodation on an uninterrupted basis from the point at which qualifying persons apply for international protection.” 
  • Applicants were represented by the Irish Refugee Council Independent Law Centre in both cases. 

For more information contact:

Nick Henderson, CEO, nick@irishrefugeecouncil.ie 0858585559.

Wendy Muperi, Communications Officer, wendy@irishrefugeecouncil.ie, 0858550434.