Upon the limits of rights regimes”: Reception Conditions of Asylum Seekers in the Republic of Ireland

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.Ce n’est qu’au cours de ces dernières années que l’Irlande a eu à faire face à un nombre sensible de demandeurs d’asile arrivant sur ses rivages. Durant cette période, l’accueil des demandeurs d’asile en attente de la détermination de leurs revendications du statut de réfugié a radicalement changé. Le cadre légal des conditions d’accueil des demandeurs d’asile est passé de l’inclusion à l’exclusion. Il y a très peu de chance de voir les tribunaux irlandais fournir une protection légale aux demandeurs d’asile, ce qui leur assurerait un degré quelconque de protection socio-économique. Les arguments traditionnels selon lesquels les droits des personnes admises à titre d’asile sont “ différents ” des droits de citoyens irlandais et d’autres résidants, ont été utilisés pour justifier cette exclusion de l’État-providence. L’argumentation sous-jacente de cet article est la nécessité d’assurer l’accueil des demandeurs d’asiles à l’intérieur des structures traditionnelles de l’État-providence, où droits et besoins sont considérés de façon semblable aux citoyens

Immigration (Reform) (Regularisation of Residency Status) Bill 2014

On the invitation of Senator David Norris, I drafted the Immigration (Reform) (Regularisation of Residency Status) Bill 2014.

A Report on the Application of the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 and the European Charter of Fundamental Rights: Evaluation and Review

This project explores the extent that the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention), the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 (the ECHR Act), and the European Charter of Fundamental Rights (the Charter) have been utilised before Irish courts and specified tribunals. The remit of this research report explores rights under these instruments that have been: Utilised in argument before Irish Superior Courts and specified tribunals, with a clear identification of the areas of law at issue, and the precise right under the ECHR Act, the Convention and the Charter, that has been argued and/or considered; Relied upon by domestic courts and tribunals in coming to their decisions; Interpreted in light of Ireland's constitutional framework.

The Development of a Multi-Modal Cancer Rehabilitation (Including Prehabilitation) Service in Sheffield, UK: Designing the Active Together Service

Cancer patients undergoing major interventions face numerous challenges, including the adverse effects of cancer and the side effects of treatment. Cancer rehabilitation is vital in ensuring cancer patients have the support they need to maximise treatment outcomes and minimise treatment-related side effects and symptoms. The Active Together service is a multi-modal rehabilitation service designed to address critical support gaps for cancer patients. The service is located and provided in Sheffield, UK, an area with higher cancer incidence and mortality rates than the national average. The service aligns with local and regional cancer care objectives and aims to improve the clinical and quality-of-life outcomes of cancer patients by using lifestyle behaviour-change techniques to address their physical, nutritional, and psychological needs. This paper describes the design and initial implementation of the Active Together service, highlighting its potential to support and benefit cancer patients

Evaluating the Effects of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Mutation D614G on Transmissibility and Pathogenicity.

Global dispersal and increasing frequency of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein variant D614G are suggestive of a selective advantage but may also be due to a random founder effect. We investigate the hypothesis for positive selection of spike D614G in the United Kingdom using more than 25,000 whole genome SARS-CoV-2 sequences. Despite the availability of a large dataset, well represented by both spike 614 variants, not all approaches showed a conclusive signal of positive selection. Population genetic analysis indicates that 614G increases in frequency relative to 614D in a manner consistent with a selective advantage. We do not find any indication that patients infected with the spike 614G variant have higher COVID-19 mortality or clinical severity, but 614G is associated with higher viral load and younger age of patients. Significant differences in growth and size of 614G phylogenetic clusters indicate a need for continued study of this variant

Genomic assessment of quarantine measures to prevent SARS-CoV-2 importation and transmission

Mitigation of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from international travel is a priority. We evaluated the effectiveness of travellers being required to quarantine for 14-days on return to England in Summer 2020. We identified 4,207 travel-related SARS-CoV-2 cases and their contacts, and identified 827 associated SARS-CoV-2 genomes. Overall, quarantine was associated with a lower rate of contacts, and the impact of quarantine was greatest in the 16–20 age-group. 186 SARS-CoV-2 genomes were sufficiently unique to identify travel-related clusters. Fewer genomically-linked cases were observed for index cases who returned from countries with quarantine requirement compared to countries with no quarantine requirement. This difference was explained by fewer importation events per identified genome for these cases, as opposed to fewer onward contacts per case. Overall, our study demonstrates that a 14-day quarantine period reduces, but does not completely eliminate, the onward transmission of imported cases, mainly by dissuading travel to countries with a quarantine requirement