A County Council has accepted that a woman who has been given leave to remain in the State as the mother of an Irish citizen child (a ‘Zambrano’ parent) is eligible for social housing. The Council’s decision followed consultation with the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) and the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. The Free Legal Advice Centres (FLAC) represented the woman concerned.
Marie (not her real name) is a non-Irish national who came to Ireland some years ago as an asylum seeker. She has a son who is an Irish citizen and she was given leave to remain in the State in December 2011, following a decision by the EU Court of Justice in a case called ‘Zambrano’. The judgment in the case held that a child who has EU citizenship is entitled to reside in the EU and a parent upon whom the child depends must be allowed to remain as well so long as the child is dependent on her/him.
When Marie got her leave to remain she was able to leave Direct Provision. However, when she applied for social housing the County Council told her that non-EEA nationals had to have a total of five years legal residence in the State before they could be eligible to apply. Residence in Direct Provision did not count.
FLAC wrote to the County Council pointing out that Marie was a Zambrano parent and had a legal right to reside from when her child was recognised as an EU citizen. FLAC also referred to a recent decision by the British Court of Appeal in the case of Pryce v London Borough of Southwark [2012] EWCA Civ1572 which also dealt with access to social housing by a Zambrano parent and held that the parent in question was eligible to apply.
FLAC pointed out as well that a 2012 amendment to Housing Circular 47/2011 issued by the Department of the Environment indicated that Zambrano parents should be accepted as eligible for social housing.
The Council replied in mid-July saying that they had “sought clarification from both the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service and the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and as a result of same the Council is satisfied with [Marie’s] residency status”.
Of course, it must be stressed that persons eligible to apply for social housing still have to satisfy the criteria for housing need and wait until suitable housing becomes available.
Click here to read more about the the Zambrano case.