Irish Refugee Council Marks Two Years of Homelessness for International Protection Applicants
Nick Henderson, CEO of the Irish Refugee Council, said:
“Today is a grim milestone: two uninterrupted years of the policy of non-accommodation of people seeking protection. Since 4 December 2023, people are forced rough to sleep rough, at real risk to their health and safety, to demonstrate their need for accommodation. This is a policy that Minister O'Callaghan has the power to end today.
Over 10,000 people have been refused accommodation since January 2023. Around 3,100 people have been refused accommodation so far in 2025.
A freedom of information request made by the Irish Refugee Council, now available publicly, states that there are 3,500 beds in the IPAS system, but men are still sleeping on the streets.
In August, the Court of Justice of the European Union, in a case brought by the Irish Refugee Council Independent Law Centre, clearly and strongly stated that a Member State which fails to provide an applicant who does not have sufficient means with those material conditions, even temporarily, is manifestly and gravely exceeding its discretion with regard to the application of the reception conditions directive.
This policy also puts a huge amount of pressure on volunteers who are supporting homeless people. A small number of dedicated volunteers have invested significant time and financial resources into filling a gap left by the State, often in the face of threats and harassment.”
Notes for editor:
- In the Spring of 2023, over 1,400 mostly men were left without accommodation.
- Now I Live on the Road, Irish Refugee Council, April 2023.
- The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission have been granted to appeal the Court of Appeal's recent ruling on unaccommodated International Protection applicants.
- In August 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union, in a decision, said that States can be held accountable when they break laws which were intended to protect individuals’ rights, even when there is an unexpected increase in the numbers of protection applications and existing accommodation capacity is exhausted. The decision follows a preliminary reference from the High Court made in December 2023. The Irish Refugee Council Law Centre represented the applicant.