A State agency has been ordered to pay €5,000 to a mother currently living in a Direct Provision centre over its discriminatory race refusal to issue her with a learner driving licence.

At the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), Adjudication Officer, Patsy Doyle found that the indirect discrimination under the Equal Status Act suffered by the asylum seeker was “pronounced and obstructive to her efforts” in accessing work.

The decision by the state driver licence agency to refuse to issue a licence means that the single mother of a one-year-old son undertakes a costly and lengthy bus and rail commute from Munster to get to her work as a housekeeper in Dublin where she leaves her baby with friends while she goes to work.

The woman’s current employers have offered to buy her a car in the event that she gets a full licence.

She passed her driver theory test and her eye sight exam at a cost of over €100.

However, when she applied for her learner permit, the statutory body responsible for issuing driver licences informed her that she needed to provide evidence of full or “permanent” residency permission, which as an asylum seeker by definition she could not provide.

When the mother, represented by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHEC), was unable to provide the requested documentation, the agency refused her application in October 2018.

As a result, the woman has been unable to access more employment opportunities, and continues her commute to work in Dublin with her infant.

The woman told the WRC:

I am an asylum seeker, I have no rights. But if we have permission to get work why can’t I get licence to help my own.

The woman has been unsuccessful in trying to secure a transfer in her Direct Provision base to be near her work and cannot afford private accommodation.

In her decision published today, Ms Doyle ruled that by the end of February the driving licence agency must meet with the woman to discuss whether she can exchange her full driver licence from her country of origin for an Irish one. If that is not possible, the agency must immediately give her a learner permit without additional cost.

Three weeks ago, the WRC awarded €2,500 to another asylum seeker who experienced discrimination on the grounds of race when he was refused a learner driving permit in similar circumstances. In that ruling, the WRC ordered the agency to process the man’s application for a learner, permit but the State agency appealed the ruling instead.

In both cases, the complainants were applying for a learner driving licence permit to improve access to work opportunities following the landmark ‘NHV’ Supreme Court decision which found that an indefinite ban on asylum seekers applying for work was unconstitutional.

On being refused during the application process, the woman declared she “was disappointed and fearful of [refusal] as she was struggling to manage transport for her and her baby”.

Commission Member of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, Salome Mbugua, said today: “Public bodies such as this have a legal obligation to prevent discrimination, but this agency is clearly falling down in this duty, having now seen two rulings against it in less than a month for the same offence of race-based discrimination.

“Today’s WRC decision includes a clear deadline for a permit to be issued to this mother, and an order for these discriminatory guidelines to be changed, as Ireland’s National Equality Body, the Commission expects this order to be followed.

“These two WRC decisions should also provide the legal momentum for Government to finally and emphatically address the issue of asylum seekers access to driving licences.”

In response to the ruling, the woman said: “It’s extremely joyful for me that WRC’s decision in my case was positive. They heard the voice of me and my baby. They understand what it means to stay in isolated places where there is not good transportation.

“My situation is I have my little son. I have work permission rights.

We face plenty of obstacles to get to work. When I am working, I have to leave my baby to crèche or with a friend. I am always late to my work because of the transportation - because I don’t have a licence to drive a car.

"On the top of that, transportation is extremely expensive for me. Sometimes the weather is not good for my baby.

“My baby is fourteen months old now. Being a single mom comes with lots of responsibilities. Every time I need to go anywhere I need to take help from other person who has a car to drop us to everywhere.

“I have been waiting since October 2018 for this case outcome. Now I have a good decision, but the other side refuse to meet me and give me a licence. I don’t know if they will change the guidelines for other asylum seeker workers on their website like the WRC says.”