Amnesty International Report 2016/17 - Ireland

Republic of Ireland
Head of state: Michael D. Higgins
Head of government: Enda Kenny

Access to and information about abortion remained severely restricted and criminalized. Travellers' rights to adequate housing were violated. Concerns remained about "direct provision" accommodation provided to asylum-seekers.

SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

In February, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed concern that legislation allowed abortion only where a girl's life is at "real and substantial risk", and prevented doctors from providing services in accordance with objective medical practice. The Committee called on Ireland to decriminalize abortion in all circumstances and review its legislation to ensure children's access to safe abortion and post-abortion care. It also found a "severe lack of access to sexual and reproductive health education and emergency contraception for adolescents".

In June, the UN Human Rights Committee decided in Mellet v Ireland that Ireland's abortion laws violated a woman's right to be free from inhuman or degrading treatment, and to enjoy privacy and non-discrimination. The complainant had to travel to the UK for an abortion, despite a diagnosis of a fatal fetal impairment causing her "intense physical and mental suffering". The Committee found that the suffering was exacerbated by the stigma caused by the criminalization of abortion. On 30 November, the government agreed to provide the complainant, Amanda Mellet, with compensation and counselling.

A Citizens' Assembly, comprising 99 randomly selected members of the public and established by the government to make recommendations on constitutional reform, including on abortion, held its first meetings in October and November.

HOUSING RIGHTS

In January, the government referred the right to housing to a parliamentary committee, responding partially to the 2014 recommendation of the government-established Constitutional Convention. However, it chose not to task the same committee with examining the full recommendation that the Constitution be amended to incorporate economic, social and cultural rights. This was despite the fact that as recently as 2015 the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights reiterated its recommendation that the government take all appropriate measures to ensure the direct applicability of provisions in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, including through incorporation of the Covenant in its domestic legal order.

The shortage of state housing and private rental accommodation contributed to homelessness. The Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed deep concern at reports that homeless families experienced significant delays in accessing social housing, frequently living long-term in inappropriate, temporary or emergency accommodation.

DISCRIMINATION

Travellers and Roma

In May, the European Committee of Social Rights ruled, in European Roma Rights Centre v Ireland, that Travellers faced a violation of their right to social, legal and economic protection on the grounds of insufficient provision of accommodation, poor conditions of many sites and inadequate safeguards when threatened with and during evictions.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child raised concerns over structural discrimination against Traveller and Roma children, including in their access to education, health and an adequate standard of living.

Sex workers

A government bill which proposed to criminalize the purchase of sex, fails to take adequate account of sex workers' needs and views or international evidence that criminalization increases their isolation and marginalization, and violates their safety and human rights. The bill did not fully decriminalize sex workers but maintained and even increased penalties for brothel-keeping and loitering offences that are frequently used against sex workers.

REFUGEES' AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS' RIGHTS

Provisions in 2015 legislation which established a single procedure for dealing with both claims for refugee status and other forms of protection came into force on 31 December.

Concerns remained about the poor living conditions in "direct provision" accommodation centres for asylum-seekers and the slow implementation of recommendations for improvement set out in a government-established working group's 2015 report. Concerns highlighted by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, included inadequate child protection services, access to education, and inappropriate clothing and food.

Resettlement and relocation

The Department of Justice and Equality confirmed that by the end of the year, only 240 of the 2,622 asylum-seekers agreed for relocation from the EU in 2015 had arrived in Ireland; 519 of 520 Syrian refugees agreed for resettlement from the Middle East, however, had arrived. In July, Ireland undertook to resettle another 260 refugees from Lebanon.

National security deportation

In July, the authorities deported a man to Jordan, deeming him a national security threat for allegedly organizing and facilitating travel of people to join the armed group Islamic State (IS). He faced the risk of torture and other ill-treatment in Jordan. His applications to the Irish courts and the European Court of Human Rights to prevent his deportation were unsuccessful.^[1]

1. Ireland: Deportation to Jordan would risk backsliding on absolute ban on torture (News story, 6 July)