Potential for asylum seekers not offered State accommodation to take legal action

Roderic O’Gorman has said there is 'potential' that asylum seekers who have not been offered State accommodation will take legal action.

Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman has said there is “potential” that asylum seekers who have not been offered State accommodation will take legal action against the State.

It comes as Cabinet signed off on giving International Protection applicants who did not receive an offer of accommodation an extra €75 in their weekly payment.

Asylum seekers are entitled to €38.50 every week but this will rise to €113.80, Mr O’Gorman has said. 

However, once accommodation has been sourced for an individual, the income support will be cut back to €38.50.

Mr O’Gorman said this is to enable people to provide “some support for themselves while they aren’t being accommodated”. 

He said his department is also engaging with service providers in terms of being able to provide additional support such as access to showers and other basic services to those who face sleeping rough on the streets.

A recent court case found the Government in breach of its obligations under European law to house people claiming international protection.

Mr O’Gorman said: “There’s certainly a potential that people may take legal action, those who aren’t accommodated.

“As I say we are taking this exceptional step to increase the payments in order to meet their material living needs.

“And I think the court. in assessing a legal case. would also assess the increased measuring the State has taken,” the minister said.

Mr O’Gorman said the Government arrived at the figure of €75 after looking at what other EU countries had done when they were faced with a similar situation and also ran out of housing to offer asylum seekers.

Mr O’Gorman said his department has “line of sight” of some additional accommodation before and after Christmas and said this was dependent on “one or two” sites that were being worked on by department officials.

He said the accommodation that is being examined is not tents and is commercial buildings that have been repurposed.

“But as I say in terms of the numbers we would expect over the next number of weeks and the amount of the additional accommodation we have to bring online, we still have a deficiency there,” Mr O’Gorman said.

He also said just over 300 modular units have been delivered so far.

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