“Upon the Limits of Rights Regimes”: Reception Conditions of Asylum Seekers in the Republic of Ireland

Abstract

Only in recent years has Ireland had to deal with appreciable numbers of asylum seekers coming to her shores. The reception of asylum seekers awaiting determination of refugee claims has drastically altered in that period. From inclusion to exclusion has been the hallmark of the legal regulation of reception conditions for asylum seekers. Legal protection from the Irish courts in ensuring a degree of socio-economic protection to asylum seekers is unlikely to be forthcoming. Traditional arguments on asylees’ rights as being “different” from Irish citizens and those of other residents have been utilized to justify exclusion from the welfare state. Ensuring the reception of asylum seekers within traditional welfare state structures, where their rights and needs are considered in a similar manner to those of citizens, is the underlying argument of this paper.