Four teenage asylum seekers planning to sit the Leaving Certificate next June have failed in the bid to secure High Court injunctions against the HSE aimed at allowing them to return to schools they had previously attended in Dublin.
The four girls, who arrived separately in Ireland from Africa in 2008 as unaccompanied minors, were initially placed in care and had attended Dublin schools.
However, after they turned 18, they were relocated to adult hostel accommodation in Galway, where they are currently attending schools.
The four, who cannot be named for legal reasons sought injunctions, pending the full hearing of the action, requiring the HSE to put into place an appropriate aftercare plan, including the provision of finances, that would allow them to complete their Leaving Certificate examinations at the schools in Dublin they previously attended.
The HSE had opposed the application.
At the High Court today Mr Justice Barry White dismissed the students application for injunctions on grounds including that he was not satisfied at this stage that the four's cases were likely to succeed when they come before the High Court.
The Judge also refused an order preventing the HSE from withdrawing their €19 per week allowance and their medical card if they voluntarily leave their accommodation in Galway.
Justice White said it was undesirable for the courts to interfere with the day-to-day issues of a statutory body. The Judge said that he also had to be mindful of the efficient use of the scarce resources of the HSE.
The Judge, who accepted that the four girl's lives had been disrupted as a result of their move from Dublin, said that his decision to refuse the injunctions was based on the law and was not a commentary on social or human rights policy.