Burmese refugee wins right to work

Up to 3,000 asylum seekers could soon be eligible to join the workforce after the Supreme Court found banning them from employment is unconstitutional.

As of April, there were 4,777 people in direct provision centres around the country, 3,544 of whom were adults.

Nick Henderson, chief executive of the Irish Refugee Council, pointed out that while roughly 450 of those have been granted refugee status and can work but just have not been able to find homes outside the centres, the rest cannot, at this stage, seek employment.