Gill v Kildare County Council
| Jurisdiction | Ireland |
| Judge | Mr. Justice Eagar |
| Judgment Date | 11 January 2017 |
| Neutral Citation | [2017] IEHC 51 |
| Docket Number | [2016 No. 37 J.R.] |
| Court | High Court |
| Date | 11 January 2017 |
[2017] IEHC 51
THE HIGH COURT
JUDICIAL REVIEW
Eagar J.
[2016 No. 37 J.R.]
Local government – The Housing Act, 1988 – Accommodation for homeless – Denial for emergency housing – Judicial review – Award of costs – Mootness
Facts: The applicants were successful in their judicial review application that was filed against the decision of the respondent for refusing to provide emergency homeless accommodation to the applicants. However, the proceedings became moot as the applicants were able to get private accommodation under the Housing Assistance Programme (HAP). The applicants now sought an order for the costs in relation to their ex-parte judicial review application. The respondent objected to the payment of costs as the proceedings had become moot.
Mr. Justice Eagar made an order for the payment of costs to the applicants in relation to their application. The Court held that the respondent was under duty to assist the first applicant and her minor children to get an accommodation through HAP and the refusal to do so was in contravention of art. 42A of the Constitution of Ireland. The Court held that despite the mootness of the proceedings, the difficult circumstances of the applicants who were facing homelessness would lead the Court to exercise its discretion in awarding the costs.
In this case the judicial review proceedings were solved amicably and the only issue that this Court has to deal with is the issue of costs.
On 25th January, 2016 counsel for the applicants made an ex parte application to Murphy J. for leave to apply by way of an application for judicial review. Murphy J. on that date made an order granting the applicant leave to apply by way of judicial review for:—
i. An order of certiorari quashing the respondent's decision of 8th January, 2016 refusing the first named applicant's application, made on her own behalf and on behalf of the second and third named applicants, seeking emergency homeless accommodation pursuant to s. 10 of the Housing Act, 1988 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the decision of the respondent of 8th January’);
ii. an order of mandamus directing the respondent to reconsider the first named applicant's application for emergency homeless accommodation for herself and her family pursuant to s. 10 of the Housing Act, 1988.
Murphy J. also granted leave for the relief of the costs of these proceedings on that date. The application for leave was grounded on the affidavit of Linda Gill, the first named applicant. She described that she was a 24 year old mother of two and had ordinarily resided in Kildare for all her life. She is the mother of T,G, who was then aged two years and nine months and E.M. (the third named respondent herein) who was 11 months at the time of the application. She described that she had been in a committed relationship with the third named respondent's father for over a year and lived together as co-habitees for a period of 8 months. She described that from March, 2015 to October, 2015 she resided at private rented accommodation at Apartment 1, Kildare House, Clare Gate Street, Kildare Town, Co. Kildare.
She described that the relationship with the father of the third named respondent broke down and she left the apartment at Kildare Town with both their children in or about October, 2015. She stated that the three respondents had been homeless since leaving the Kildare House apartment. For a period of approximately 3 months she stated that they were able to stay on a temporary basis with Yvonne Maguire in Grange, Co. Meath.
At the time Ms. Maguire was in a relationship with the first named applicant's father. She had hoped that she would be able to secure private rented accommodation for herself and her two small children but over the course of the last three months of 2015 she was unsuccessful despite repeated attempts. She was eligible for rent supplement and only 3 properties in Co. Kildare were within the price range allowable for rent supplement. She described that her current weekly income is €245.60 as she is in receipt of supplementary welfare allowance while she awaits her one-parent family payment. She is also in receipt of €280 a month child benefit.
She describes that in early January, 2016 she agreed to leave Ms. Maguire's home in circumstances where the continued presence of herself and her young children in her home was no longer sustainable. She agreed that they would move out on 7th January and she presented herself at the offices of Kildare County Council seeking emergency homeless accommodation on 6th January, 2016. She presented again on 7th January, 2016 and on both of these occasions she was refused emergency accommodation. On the night of 7th January, 2016 Ms. Yvonne Maguire, her friend, agreed to allow her to stay for one final night with her children.
On 8th January, 2016 she again presented at Kildare County Council's offices seeking emergency homeless accommodation for herself and her two small children. She was again refused. She then sought the assistance of Sinead Kieran, a solicitor of the Mercy Law Resource Centre Solicitors, a firm of solicitors who provide legal advice and representation in an accessible way, to people who are homeless or at the risk of homelessness in the areas of social housing and social welfare law. Her solicitor contacted Kildare County Council by telephone but she was told that they would not speak to her for reasons of data protection.
On 8th January, 2016 she received a letter from Mark McLoughlin, Administrative Officer of Kildare County Council, who confirmed that the first named applicant had presented to Kildare County Council Homeless Services, that she had been assessed by the Homeless Team based on information that she had provided. The letter concluded:—
‘Accordingly Kildare County Council are of the opinion that it would not be appropriate to provide emergency accommodation at this time.’
It is relevant for the purposes of this judgment that Mr. McLoughlin did not refer in that correspondence to the Housing Assistance Programme (hereinafter referred to as the ‘HAP’) as this is a matter which counsel for the respondent relies upon to resist this application for costs.
The first named applicant in her affidavit stated that on 8th January, 2016, having been refused emergency accommodation by the defendant, travelled to Dublin with her young children and Dublin City Council agreed to provide her with three nights of emergency homeless accommodation for the nights of the 8th, 9th and 10th January, 2016.
On 11th January, 2016 her solicitor wrote to Kildare County Council asking that they reconsider her application for emergency homelessness accommodation and/or that they otherwise provide the first named applicant and her children with housing. The letter set out the statutory, constitutional and human rights framework within which Kildare County Council's powers operate in considerable detail. It also stated that judicial review would issue without further notice to them if no satisfactory...
To continue reading
Request your trial