The High Court has ruled that a decision refusing an Albanian applicant permission to remain in Ireland was invalid because the review failed to apply the full statutory test and gave inadequate reasons. The court said it would set aside the refusal and a consequential deportation order, with the final form of the order to be addressed at a later hearing.
In a judgment delivered on 15 December 2023, Mr Justice Garrett Simons found that the review decision considered whether refusing permission would breach the applicant’s rights under the European Convention on Human Rights but did not properly assess the wider considerations required by section 49 of the International Protection Act 2015.
The applicant’s international protection claim had been refused at first instance and on appeal. He sought a review of the Minister’s earlier refusal of permission to remain. His application referred to his employment history, the small business he had established, testimonials from colleagues and friends, and his standing in his local community. The judgment records that he had been granted permission to access the labour market for a limited period.
The review decision summarised some of those submissions but did not assess them. It concluded that refusal would not breach the applicant’s rights and that his family and personal circumstances had been considered. Justice Simons said the decision-maker had failed to engage with the applicant’s connection to the State and other non-ECHR factors. Merely repeating submissions, without explaining why they were accepted or rejected, was insufficient.
The judge also rejected the Minister’s argument that any errors did not make the outcome unlawful. He distinguished a Supreme Court case focused on the assessment of Article 8 rights, saying this case concerned the separate, wider statutory assessment. Section 49 did not require an applicant to establish that refusal would breach ECHR rights or occur only in exceptional circumstances.
The court held the decision invalid both for misinterpreting the statutory test and for failing to provide proper reasons. It said certiorari would set aside the decision of 13 June 2019 and the consequential deportation order of 8 July 2019. The judgment expressed a provisional view that the applicant should recover his costs. Submissions on the final form of the order were scheduled for 22 January 2024; the judgment does not record the final order or a final costs determination.