Human Rights in Ireland

On Tuesday April 24, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) published a judgment of the Grand Chamber, Kamberaj v IPES. In the judgment, the court stated that the equality provisions in Article 11 of the Long Term Residents Directive, as well as Article 34 of the EU Charter which relates to right to social and housing assistance, preclude a Member State from treating long-term resident third-country nationals and EU citizens differently for the purposes of the provision and allocation of housing benefit. Read Full Post »

The Dutch government announced last week that from 2013, it will no longer finance integration and language classes for newly arrived immigrants in the state. Despite an amendment proposed by opposition parties, it appears that there will be no exception for refugees in the Netherlands. The new measure is introduced as part of bill amending the Integration Act, which is currently being debated in parliament. Though under the proposed amendment, training will no longer be freely available to refugees, their ability to access a long term residence permit or citizenship status will still be dependent on whether they pass the state integration and language tests.  This announcement signifies yet another obstacle for those attempting to gain long term residence and ultimately citizenship status in the state. However, it also reveals the ambivalent attitude that the Dutch Government has towards refugees living in the state. Read Full Post »

Earlier this month, the Minister for Justice issued a statement which offered an insight into the effect that the recession has had on the immigration and asylum system in Ireland. While reflecting on measures that were implemented in 2011, the statement also outlined law and policy changes in the area of immigration and asylum for the coming year. What is clear is that such areas continue to be matters of concern for the government, despite the fact that there has been a significant drop in the number of those actually entering Ireland, particularly in the case of asylum seekers. The statement also indicates that the government is intending to introduce a number of changes to the manner in which citizenship is acquired in Ireland, signalling a sudden renewed interest in issues related to integration what is now expected of those who wish to become Irish by naturalisation. Read Full Post »