Life

Asylum ruling welcomed

The Supreme Court in Dublin has said that it is unconstitutional for the government to prevent asylum seekers from working.
The Supreme Court in Dublin has said that it is unconstitutional for the government to prevent asylum seekers from working. The Supreme Court in Dublin has said that it is unconstitutional for the government to prevent asylum seekers from working.

BISHOP John McAreavey has said he is delighted at the Dublin Supreme Court's finding that a ban which prevented asylum seekers in the Republic from working was unconstitutional.

Dr McAreavey, the Bishop of Dromore and chair of the Catholic bishops' Council for Justice and Peace, quoted the court's view that "This damage to the individual's self-worth, and sense of themselves, is exactly the damage which the constitutional right [to seek employment] seeks to guard against".

These were powerful and profound words, he said, and "speak to what we should aspire to".

"I would urge politicians to see the great merit - moral, civic, cultural and economic - of allowing migrants who are already in Ireland to participate and contribute to our society here," he said.

"I would encourage policymakers to balance the government's duty to manage the resources of the state with the parallel duty to treat asylum seekers humanely.

"Asylum seekers and their families have greatly suffered and it is their dear wish to integrate and contribute to the common good of Irish society."