Author
The Reception Conditions Regulations provide that reception conditions can be reduced or withdrawn by the Minister of Justice in one of the following four situations, where the applicant:[1]
- Has not cooperated with the protection application such that the failure to take a first instance decision can be attributable in whole or in part to the applicant. The Regulations detail that delay can be attributed to the applicant when they: fail to make reasonable efforts to establish identity; act in some way which causes delay to processing of applications without reasonable excuse; or otherwise fail to comply with an obligation relating to the asylum application.[2]
- Has not complied with some aspect of the asylum procedure. This ground is particularly vague as it refers to “an obligation under an enactment relating to the application” rather than any specific aspect of the IPA.[3] Hypothetically, this means that a failure to comply with any aspect of the application process – no matter how insignificant – could be a ground for reducing or withdrawing reception conditions, so long as the Minister is satisfied that the applicant has failed to provide a “reasonable excuse”.
- Has seriously breached the house rules of the place of accommodation.
- Has engaged in seriously violent behaviour. “Seriously violent behaviour” is not defined in the Regulations, which raises a question of when violent behaviour will reach the level of being sufficiently serious to warrant the reduction or withdrawal of reception conditions. It is therefore left to the Minister to determine when behaviour will meet the threshold of being “seriously violent”.
In addition to the Minister for Justice having power to reduce or withdraw reception conditions under the circumstances specified in the Regulations, the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection is also empowered to reduce or withdraw the daily expenses allowance provided to a recipient on the same grounds.[4]
Both Ministers, when making a decision to withdraw or reduce reception conditions, must have regard to the individual circumstances of the recipient and, in particular, whether they are a vulnerable person.[5]
The Ministers must also have regard to any explanation provided by the recipient for the conduct which has been deemed to ground the reduction or withdrawal of reception conditions.[6]
The Regulations also provide that a decision to reduce or withdraw material reception conditions shall only be taken in exceptional circumstances where no other action can be taken to address the conduct of the recipient.[7]
Where a decision is taken to reduce or withdraw reception conditions, the Minister nonetheless must ensure the person in question has access to health care and a dignified standard of living, where the person does not have means to provide for themselves.[8] Since it is a requirement of the Regulations that a person will only receive material reception conditions where they do not have sufficient means to otherwise provide an adequate standard of living, it is unclear what safeguarding a dignified standard of living would entail in practice, outside of the Direct Provision system. Arguably, every person receiving material reception conditions would, by definition, require further assistance from the Minister to ensure they are not left destitute. Furthermore, the use of “dignified” rather than “adequate” standard of living in the drafting of this provision raises a question of whether a different standard would be applied to assistance provided to a person for whom reception conditions have been reduced or withdrawn. Neither term is defined which leaves no guidance on what this would entail in practice.
Decisions reducing or withdrawing reception conditions can be challenged by means of review before the Minister for Justice within ten working days,[9] or the Minister for Employment Affairs in case of reduction or withdrawal of the Direct Provision allowance.[10] The decision of the review officer can then be challenged before the IPAT within ten working days.[11] The IPAT has 15 working days to decide on the appeal.[12]
In 2023, the IPAT received 6 appeals pursuant to the European Communities (Reception Conditions) Regulations 2018.[13] For 2024, data in respect of the number of appeals pursuant to the European Communities (Reception Conditions) Regulations 2018 was not available, however, a total of 17 decisions were issued by the Tribunal in accordance with the 2018 Regulations.[14]
In 2025, 237 appeals were lodged to the Tribunal in accordance with the 2018 Regulations. A total of 239 appeal decisions were issued with respect to the 2018 Regulations.[15]
In 2022,[16] the Irish Refugee Council assisted approximately 147 international protection applicants experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness, many of whom were left without accommodation for weeks or months due to unanswered re-accommodation requests or evictions for alleged breaches of House Rules. In many cases, these withdrawals did not meet the limited grounds permitted under the Reception Conditions Regulations 2018, and applicants were not provided with written notification, making appeals impossible. While these breaches continued through 2024 and, as of 2025, still occur to a lesser extent, most applicants now receive written notification outlining the reasons for the withdrawal of reception conditions. [17]
[1] Regulation 6(1) Reception Conditions Regulations 2018.
[2] Regulation 27 Reception Conditions Regulations 2018.
[3] The corresponding EU law provision, Article 20(1)(b) recast Reception Conditions Directive, refers to non-compliance with reporting duties or information requests, or failure to appear for personal interviews.
[4] Regulation 6(2) Reception Conditions Regulations 2018.
[5] Regulation 6(3)(a) Reception Conditions Regulations 2018.
[6] Regulation 6(3)(b) Reception Conditions Regulations 2018.
[7] Regulation 6(5) Reception Conditions Regulations 2018.
[8] Regulation 6(6) Reception Conditions Regulations 2018.
[9] Regulation 20(1)(d) Reception Conditions Regulations 2018.
[10] Regulation 20(2)(d) Reception Conditions Regulations 2018.
[11] Regulation 21(1) Reception Conditions Regulations 2018.
[12] Regulation 21(4)(a) Reception Conditions Regulations 2018.
[13] Information provided by IPAT, January 2024.
[14] Information provided by IPAT, February 2025.
[15] Information provided by IPAT, February 2026.
[16] For further details, please see previous updates to this country report, available here.
[17] Information provided by Irish Refugee Council’s Information and Advocacy Service, January 2026.