The Irish Circuit Court has overturned a decision of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) which found that a ban on asylum seekers obtaining learner driver permits amounted to indirect racial discrimination.
The respondent applied for asylum in Ireland in 2015. She lives in the South of Ireland and commutes to Dublin for work. She applied to the National Driver Licence Service (NDLS) for a learner driver permit. Her application was rejected on the basis that she did not have normal residency in the state, as is required by Regulation 20 of the Road Traffic (Licensing of Drivers) Regulations 2006 (the Regulations). The respondent, represented by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC), argued that this amounted to discrimination on the grounds of race under the Equal Status Acts 2000-2015. The WRC held that the ban on asylum seekers accessing learner driver permits amounted to indirect racial discrimination.
The appellants appealed to the Circuit Court. The Court noted that the case was not about the right to a driving licence, but about alleged discrimination in the application process for a driving licence. The Court also noted that the respondent’s argument was not that the Regulations were discriminatory, but that the NDLS interpreted them in a discriminatory manner. The Court held that while the respondent did enjoy rights by virtue of being in the state for the purposes of seeking asylum, these rights “do not extend such that her status of residence is the same as citizens in Ireland or such persons that are granted permission to enter and reside in the State as immigrants”. O’Connor J held that the NDLS did not discriminate against the respondent on grounds of race, “they applied existing Irish law to the Regulations”. The Court also stated that the respondent’s employment status was not substantially affected by the lack of a driving licence, though travelling to work caused “substantial inconvenience” for her.
The Court concluded that the WRC went “substantially beyond its remit under the Equal Status Acts 2000-2015” in holding that a ban on access to learner driver permits amounted to racial discrimination. It noted that while there there are “legitimate political concerns for asylum applicants’ rights, these are matters for the Oireachtas to debate and legislate on”.
Click here to read the full judgment in Road Safety Authority v AB.