The judgement for the appeal, made by two women over the refusal of the High Court to dismiss their prosecution for allegedly not complying with hotel quarantine rules during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021 after a trip to Dubai, has been withheld by the Supreme Court. Niamh Mulreany, 27, and Kirstie McGrath, 32, are contesting the delegation of specific powers to the Health Minister, who had imposed mandatory quarantine on individuals entering Ireland from certain countries during the virus outbreak.
The women’s initial request for orders obstructing their impending District Court prosecution for alleged violations of pandemic measures was rejected by Ms Justice Marguerite Bolger last year. The decision was subsequently appealed directly to the Supreme Court, which has now determined to postpone its judgement. The justices, led by Chief Justice Donal O’Donnell, concluded the hearing on Thursday and will deliver the verdict in the future.
On Good Friday, April 2nd 2021, as the two women returned from the UAE, where they had supposedly planned but ultimately didn’t go ahead with cosmetic procedures, they were detained at Dublin Airport. At that time, mandatory quarantine up to 14 days in a hotel was compulsory for arrivals from designated countries, including the UAE, as a measure to control virus spread.
Both women denied going to the hotel, citing their inability to pay the estimated costs of over €1,800 each and expressing their need to get back to their kids. They argued that they had only managed to secure child care for the period they were to be away.
After refusing to quarantine, both Mulreany and McGrath were charged under the 1947 Health Act and might face penalties of up to €2,000 and a jail term of several months if found guilty. They assert that the charges against them are unconstitutional and initiated a judicial review against the DPP, Kate Egan BL, the Ministers for Foreign Affairs, Health, the Republic of Ireland along with the Attorney General, represented by Michael Cush SC and Katherine Donnelly SC, who all resist the appeal and urge for the High Court’s verdict to be upheld.
John Fitzgerald SC launched the appeal on behalf of the applicants, Mark Lynam SC accompanying him. The case’s center of focus was not the need to quarantine at a hotel but the procedure of introducing and enforcing these measures by the defendants.
The pair assert that the Health Minister’s assigned indication of certain states, from where individuals who journey to Ireland must endure obligatory quarantine periods, violated the balance of powers, rule of law, and was unconstitutional. The implementation of these measures ought to have been done through legislation as opposed to ministerial orders.
The duo also expressed concern over the deficiency of a legitimate appeal process for those subjected to the compulsory quarantine. The Supreme Court, which includes the Chief Justice, Justice Elizabeth Dunne, Justice Brian Murray, Justice Maurice Collins, and Justice Aileen Donnelly, has been requested to contemplate several queries as part of the appeal.
These enquiries involve whether the right to freedom, which is safeguarded under the Constitution’s article 40.4, remedies any constitutional issues in the challenged regime, or if the pandemic warranted the measures ordered by the Health Minister.
The court was also asked to clarify if it was constitutionally acceptable for the Oireachtas to assign selective powers authorizing the Health Minister to establish regulations. The drawn-out question is the constitutional status of the appeal process delineated in the quarantine regulations.
In its judgement last year, the High Court discovered that the regulations clearly dictated the need for mandatory quarantine to be allocated via a decision by the Health Minister. However, this power was not meant to be exercised through regulations as per the lower court.
The Oireachtas decided it was in the public interest for the Minister to be able to classify people entering the country from a particular state for mandatory hotel quarantine, the High Court further realized. The appellants also alleged that the appeal procedure was unconstitutional or that the breach of Constitution’s Article 37 had been dismissed by the High Court.
In March 2021, the two companions journeyed to Dubai to commemorate their ‘significant birthdays’, which had been funded by family and friends. Ms McGrath of St Anthony’s Road, Rialto, Dublin 8 and Ms Mulreany of Scarlett Row, Essex Street West, Dublin 2 had planned to experience cosmetic surgery in the UAE, decided against going ahead with those plans.
In foreign territories, quarantine regulations were imposed by the State for individuals arriving from the likes of the UAE, amongst other nations. In spite of producing negative COVID-19 test results upon their return, these individuals defied the directive to isolate. They were consequently apprehended and prosecuted under section 38 of the Health (Amendment) Act 2021, as they rejected the instruction to proceed to the designated quarantine hotel.
Though the District Court approved their bail the day following their arrest, they did not have the financial means to secure it. As a result, they were kept in custody at the women’s prison in Mountjoy, until they were freed following a session in the High Court. They were subsequently transported to a hotel where they had to remain in quarantine for numerous additional days.
During their hotel stay, they tried to utilise the State’s appeal procedure but did not succeed. To stay current on all recent developments, you can refer to our Inside Politics Podcast for the most up-to-date analysis and conversation. You can also sign up to receive immediate alerts and have top news, analysis, and commentary sent directly to your mobile device. For further updates, check out The Irish Times on WhatsApp.