The Workers’ Party has welcomed the Supreme Court’s ruling that the state’s ban on asylum seekers taking up employment is unconstitutional saying it now needed to be followed by immediate measures to not only allow asylum seekers to work but to fully recognise the United Nations Conventions on the Status of Refugees which prohibit the penalisation of refugees for illegal entry into a country when the purpose of their entry is to claim asylum.
Workers’ Party Meath representative Seamus McDonagh said the government must now show compassion and give effect to not only the letter of the ruling but to the spirit of the UN Charter in full.
Mr. McDonagh said: “It is beyond time to recognise asylum seekers for what they are – human beings in trouble. Refugees should be welcomed, not victimised. They should be given every opportunity to not only pursue their asylum application but to take up employment and education opportunities the same as anyone else and to live in dignity”.
He said: “We have hundreds of people stuck here in Meath in Mosney, unable to earn a living. It is not only grieviously wrong but is something that must not be allowed to continue.. The government’s proposals so far do nothing to address this.”
“The government has deliberately reneged on its legal and moral obligations towards asylum seekers and resisted all attempts to vindicate their rights. They must now take this Supreme Court ruling in good faith and fundamentally amend the existing legislation to implement it”, said Seamus McDonagh