A homeless man has brought a High Court challenge aimed at compelling Waterford City and County Council to help provide him with suitable accommodation.
The man, originally from Afghanistan, claims he has been unable to obtain proper accommodation except for night-to-night emergency stays from the council, which he says is unsuitable for his needs. He alleges the local authority only has four emergency beds for homeless single men. He also claims he has had to sleep in his car when no emergency beds are available.
The man, who says he fled his own country over fears of being targeted by the Taliban because he worked as a truck driver for the US military, arrived in Ireland in 2019. He was granted asylum last year, which resulted in him having to leave the accommodation he had been provided with by the International Protection Accommodation Service. While he has been working he says he has been unable to secure accommodation for himself and a sibling who also came to Ireland.
He accepts that an offer of accommodation was made to him by the authorities, and that his sibling has been provided with somewhere to stay. He says he did not take up the offer because he did not fully understand it because his level of English is poor and it was never explained to him in his native language.
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By the time he understood what was being put to him, the time for acceptance had elapsed and the offer was withdrawn. He says he has been unable to secure social housing support. This, he claims, was refused because he was wrongly deemed to have turned down accommodation.
He presented to the council’s homeless service several months ago, but that it has only a limited number of emergency beds for single men. He claims he was advised to go to Dublin but has remained in Waterford.
The court heard that on the occasions he has been provided with emergency accommodation by the council all he was given was either a pull-out bed or a couch in an unheated room. The accommodation is only available after 9pm.
While he is on the council’s homeless list he does not know when an offer will be made to him for anything other than the night-to-night emergency accommodation. Being homeless has adversely affected his health, it is claimed.
As a result of what he claims is the council’s failure to act lawfully under the 1988 Housing Act, he has brought High Court proceedings against the council.
The man seeks various orders and declarations, including an order that the council must provide him with accommodation other than an emergency night-to-night bed. He further seeks several declarations from the court including that the council’s alleged policy of only providing four emergency beds for single men is unlawful, and that his rights under the Constitution and European Convention on Human Rights are not being vindicated.
The matter came before Ms Justice Niamh Hyland on Monday. On an ex parte basis, she granted the man permission to bring his challenge.
The matter will return before the court next month.