Two Dublin women arrested after they refused to quarantine at a hotel upon returning to Ireland from a holiday in Dubai in 2021 have told the High Court they should not be prosecuted for alleged breaches of Covid-19 measures.
The actions have been brought by Niamh Mulreany (26) and Kirstie McGrath (31) who were arrested at Dublin Airport on April 2nd, 2021, when they arrived back from the United Arab Emirates, where they intended to undergo cosmetic surgery but did not go through with the procedures.
At the time passengers travelling from certain designated countries, including the UAE, were required to quarantine for 14 days in a designated hotel after returning to Ireland.
The temporary public health measure was introduced with the aim of limiting the spread of Covid-19.
Both women refused to go to the hotel, claiming they could not afford the stay, estimated at over €1,800 each, and needed to return to their children.
They claimed they only had child-minding arrangements for their time in Dubai.
Arising out of their refusal, both were charged with breaches of the 1947 Health Act, and, if convicted, they face fines of up to €2,000 and/or a period of several months’ imprisonment.
They claim that the charges against them are unconstitutional and their trials should be halted.
Represented by Mícheál Ó Higgins SC, instructed by solicitor Michael French, the two women have brought judicial review proceedings against the DPP, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, The Minister for Health, Ireland and the Attorney General.
In their actions, they seek various orders including one halting their prosecutions, and a declaration that the offence of resisting being taken to a designated quarantine facility is invalid.
They also seek damages and various declarations, including that certain provisions of the 1947 Health Act are invalid, unconstitutional and contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights.
The State respondents, represented by Catherine Donnelly SC and Michael Cush SC, oppose the action.
Opening the case, Mr O’Higgins, appearing with John FitzGerald SC and Keith Spencer BL, said that in late March 2021 his clients, who are friends, went on holiday to Dubai to celebrate “landmark birthdays” that had been paid for by their relatives and friends.
Initially, they intended to undergo cosmetic surgery procedures in the UAE but ultimately did not go through with the planned procedures.
Counsel said Ms McGrath, of St Anthony’s Road, Rialto, Dublin 7, and Ms Mulreany, of Scarlett Row, Essex Street West, Dublin 2, are lone parents, and their children were being cared for by their relatives while they were on holiday.
After they left Ireland, the State introduced new Covid-19 hotel quarantine requirements.
Counsel said that the requirements delayed their return to Ireland.
They tested negative for the virus when they returned and refused to board a bus to a designated hotel quarantine in Dublin.
Both women were arrested and charged with breaching Section 38 of the Health (Amendment) Act 2021 due to their refusal to go the designated hotel.
They were granted bail by the District Court the day after their arrest but were unable to take it up because they could not afford it. They were detained at Mountjoy women’s prison.
The pair secured bail when the cash lodgement was reduced from €1800 to €500 following a High Court hearing on April 4th, 2021. They were released from prison and were taken to another hotel where they remained in quarantine for several more days.
Counsel said his clients’ cases attracted a lot of attention, resulting in them being the subject of “a lot of adverse comments on social media”.
Mr O’Higgins added that when at the hotel they engaged in the state’s appeal process but their applications were refused.
He said the Minister for Health’s designation of certain states as places from which travellers to Ireland were required to undergo periods of hotel quarantine breached the separation of powers, the principle of law and was unconstitutional.
Such a measure should have been introduced by way of legislation through a statutory instrument and not by way of a ministerial order, counsel said.
Counsel said that any such designation, which had the almost “blanket effect” of detaining and limiting the liberty of anyone arriving in Ireland from any of the selected nations, should have been subject to parliamentary scrutiny.
Mr O’Higgins said the second legal issue concerned what he described as the lack of a legally permissible appeals process for those who were undergoing the mandatory quarantine.
Under the measures, a designated appeals officer could entertain an appeal from somebody who was detained in the quarantine facility.
However, the measures under the 1947 Act conferred what counsel said was a judicial power on what was a non-judicial body, which amounts to a breach of Article 37 of the Irish Constitution.
The action before Ms Justice Marguerite Bolger continues.