State wins appeal against €21,877 award to Georgian asylum seeker Mr K

The State won its Supreme Court appeal against a High Court ruling that awarded Mr K, an international protection applicant from Georgia, €21,877 in damages for delayed access to the labour market. The five-judge Supreme Court unanimously overturned the High Court decision, which found the State breached Mr K's rights under EU law by failing to properly transpose a 2013 EU directive.

The directive mandates that EU member states grant international protection applicants access to the labour market within nine months of their application, provided the delay isn't attributable to the applicant. Ireland transposed the directive in 2016, adding "or attributed in part." Mr K applied for protection in September 2019 but wasn't granted labour market access, a decision upheld by the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (Ipat) in March 2021, citing delays attributable to him. His protection application was granted in June 2022.

The High Court initially deemed the Ipat decision irrational and awarded damages, citing improper transposition of the directive. The Supreme Court, after referring issues to the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU), found the inclusion of "in part" in the Irish legislation permissible.

Justice Hogan, delivering the Supreme Court's judgment, noted flaws in Ipat's reasoning, stating Mr K couldn't be held responsible for delays until late April 2020. However, Mr K offered no excuse for delays after that date. Ultimately, the Supreme Court concluded that Mr K hadn't demonstrated a nine-month delay where no part was attributable to him, thus invalidating his claim for damages.