The High Court has referred questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) about whether Ireland can rely on force majeure to resist damages claims by two international protection applicants who were left homeless while awaiting accommodation.
In a judgment delivered on 14 December 2023, Mr Justice Cian Ferriter said the applicants’ claims raised unresolved questions of EU law. The State accepted that both men were denied accommodation required by EU and Irish law and consented to declarations that their rights had been breached. The judge’s ruling did not determine whether the State must pay damages or, if so, how much.
The applicants, identified in the judgment as S.A. and R.J., were among single adult men left without accommodation during a shortage that the judgment says ran from 24 January to 9 June 2023. S.A. spent 71 days homeless before being accommodated on 27 April. R.J. spent 64 nights sleeping rough and received accommodation on 22 May.
The judgment records evidence that both men faced difficulties meeting basic needs while homeless. S.A., who had injuries from a serious car accident and complex PTSD, described sleeping outdoors in cold and wet weather and going without proper food and showers. R.J. described sleeping in a tent, hunger, threats against applicants and difficulties accessing showers. These are accounts recorded in the judgment, not separate findings about each detail.
The State argued that an unprecedented influx of people displaced by the war in Ukraine, alongside a sharp rise in other international protection applications, overwhelmed available accommodation. It said it took reasonable steps to secure beds and support applicants, including through charities. The applicants argued that the State’s response did not meet its obligations and that alternatives such as private accommodation or greater financial assistance should have been pursued.
Justice Ferriter said the law required basic reception conditions, including accommodation, even when normal capacity was temporarily exhausted. He considered that it was not clear whether force majeure could be a defence to damages for breach of obligations linked to the Charter right to human dignity, or what standard would apply if it could.
The proposed questions ask the CJEU whether that defence is available in these circumstances and, if so, what its scope is. The judge said he would hear further from the parties before finalising the questions. He deferred the damages assessment until after the liability issue is resolved. The State’s continuing duty to provide qualifying applicants with basic needs, including accommodation, was not in question.