{"id":553141,"date":"2026-07-16T18:39:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T18:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/553141\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T18:39:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T18:39:09","slug":"disabled-ukrainian-woman-and-husband-challenge-unfair-law-leading-to-loss-of-benefits-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/553141\/","title":{"rendered":"Disabled Ukrainian woman and husband challenge \u2018unfair\u2019 law leading to loss of benefits \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

A law excluding temporary protection applicants in designated accommodation centres from social welfare<\/a> benefits could see a disabled Ukrainian woman and her husband \u201cpushed out\u201d into a housing crisis, the Supreme Court<\/a> has heard.<\/p>\n

Senior counsel Feich\u00edn McDonagh said the woman lost her disability allowance and the man his carer\u2019s allowance under the 2024 law because they remained in their designated hotel accommodation.<\/p>\n

He described this as \u201cirrational\u201d, \u201cunfair\u201d, \u201ccapricious\u201d and in breach of the Constitution.<\/p>\n

Having heard the couple\u2019s appeal on Thursday over the High Court\u2019s rejection of their case, a seven-judge Supreme Court, with Chief Justice Donal O\u2019Donnell presiding, reserved judgment to a later date.<\/p>\n

The couple, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, have lived on a full-board basis in a hotel in Dublin since they arrived in the State in 2022 after fleeing the Russian war on Ukraine.<\/p>\n

The woman, a wheelchair user for about 10 years, had from 2022 received a means-tested disability allowance of \u20ac208 per week, while her husband received a means-tested weekly carer\u2019s allowance of \u20ac224.<\/p>\n

Amending legislation in 2024 aimed at freeing up space in designated accommodation centres stated displaced people granted temporary protection here \u201cshall be disqualified\u201d from social welfare assistance, other than supplementary welfare allowance, while residing at a centre.<\/p>\n

After the couple\u2019s hotel became a designated accommodation centre in September 2024, they lost their disability and care allowances. If they moved out, they would be entitled to the allowances.<\/p>\n

In rejecting their challenge, High Court judge Alexander Owens said they had not shown the State assistance provided to them is insufficient and ruled the disputed law was merely disadvantageous to them, rather than inherently discriminatory.<\/p>\n

People under temporary protection would be at a comparatively greater advantage than Irish citizens if they were to be eligible for social welfare assistance and full accommodation and board at the expense of the State, he said.<\/p>\n

They secured an appeal directly to the Supreme Court on the grounds it raised a \u201cserious issue\u201d with implications for many. <\/p>\n

That issue was identified as whether the distinction drawn between temporary protection recipients and international protection candidates, on which the legislative changes were based, is constitutionally valid. <\/p>\n

McDonagh, instructed by solicitor Eileen McCabe, said the amendments will result in the couple being \u201cpushed out\u201d in a situation where it is \u201cvery difficult\u201d for a woman in a wheelchair to get alternative accommodation in a housing crisis.<\/p>\n

It would also lead to the woman\u2019s husband being effectively forced to work, leaving him unable to provide her with the 24-hour care she needs, he said. <\/p>\n

In opposing the appeal, counsel for the Minister for Social Protection, Attorney General and Ireland, noted the couple live in a designated accommodation centre with their accommodation, subsistence needs and medical care paid for.<\/p>\n

Senior counsel Eoin Carolan said there is no claim of a constitutional or EU law right to the allowances, and the State\u2019s provision for the couple is \u201cfully compliant\u201d with its obligations under the EU temporary protection directive. <\/p>\n

Legislation necessarily involves \u201cdrawing lines\u201d between categories and people, and no other \u201clegally relevant\u201d people get the same benefits as this couple, he said.<\/p>\n

Beneficiaries of international protection can work and apply for social welfare but have no legal right to accommodation as that right ceases once they get protection, he said. These were all decisions the Oireachtas is entitled to take.<\/p>\n

Temporary protection, he added, is not the same as subsidiary or international protection. <\/p>\n

It is intended as an \u201cemergency response\u201d and is not based on individual assessment of risk. It also involves mass displacement and one consequence is the system becomes \u201coverburdened\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A law excluding temporary protection applicants in designated accommodation centres from social welfare benefits could see a disabled…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":408883,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,43,3589,8779,9688],"class_list":["post-553141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news","tag-russia","tag-supreme-court","tag-ukraine-crisis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/553141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=553141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/553141\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/408883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=553141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=553141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=553141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}