The European Court of Justice has said a 15-day time limit for asylum seekers to apply to remain in Ireland under a certain scheme, after their application for refugee status is initially rejected, cannot be reasonably justified.

The court made its judgment in the case of a Ghanaian woman whose application for refugee status was rejected in 2011.

Evelyn Danqua then applied for humanitarian leave to remain, but that was also rejected.

She subsequently applied for 'subsidiary protection', which can be given to people who do not qualify as refugees but would be at risk of serious harm if returned to their country.

However she was informed that the application could not be accepted as it had not been lodged within the period of 15 working days after notification that her asylum claim had been rejected.

Ms Danqua challenged that decision in the High Court.

The European Court of Justice has concluded that, taking into account the difficulties such applicants may face, a 15-day time limit is particularly short and does not ensure all applicants are afforded a genuine opportunity to submit an application for subsidiary protection.

The ECJ said such a time limit therefore cannot be reasonably justified.

The Department of Justice said the issues raised in the case have been addressed under the International Protection Act, which provides for the introduction of a single application procedure, and which will be commenced shortly.

The Department of Justice said the issues raised in the case have been addressed under the International Protection Act, which provides for the introduction of a single application procedure, and which will be commenced shortly.