a day ago
Debunked: Asylum seekers are not exempt from income tax for a year after they are allowed to work
WHILE SOME ASYLUM seekers are entitled to work in Ireland while waiting for a decision on their application, it is not true that they enjoy a 'tax-free year' while doing so.
The claim, which was shared in a recruitment video for an anti-immigration group, appears to be a misunderstanding of a plan to charge working asylum seekers that are in accommodation provided through the International Protection Accommodation Scheme (IPAS).
The claim was shared in a video featuring a man wearing a 'MÉGA'cap, which stands for Make Éire Great Again — a slogan used by some Irish fans of Donald Trump.
Shouting at a crowd, he talks about migrants who want to 'impose their sharia law' and says Irish people now slaves.
'Jim O'Callaghan, not three months ago, came out on RTÉ — I only watch it to see what I'm catching him out on — but he came out and said some IPAS residents are currently employed. They may be asked to contribute to society in a year's time. Where's my tax-free year? I have to pay through the nose for everything.'
The post containing the speech is a recruitment video for anti-immigration group Síol na hÉireann. It is unclear if the man in the video has a connection with Síol na hÉireann, which has previously
been investigated
by the Advertising Standards Authority for using footage of assaults in its recruitment material.
The Journal
has previously debunked posts by this group, including multiple
false
claims
about black people attacking white people in Ireland.
As of writing, one version of the video have been viewed more than 232,300 times on Facebook, and more than 22,000 times on X. Both were posted on 10 August.
The claim made in the video is said to stem from an appearance by Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan on RTÉ.
The Journal
was unable to find an appearance matching the description, and a spokesperson from O'Callaghan's office said that they were unfamiliar with what the man in the video was speaking about.
It seems likely that the video confuses O'Callaghan with Colm Brophy, who is a Minister of State at the Department of Justice.
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Brophy has spoken publicly about plans to charge working asylum seekers for their accommodation. (O'Callaghan's office confirmed he supports the plan).
However, these plans have little resemblance to what was being talked about in the video other than some shared terminology, such as uses of the term 'contribution'. The government's plans are not about changing how IPAS applicants are taxed.
Rather, these plans involve
charging asylum seekers
who are entitled to work for accommodation in IPAS centres as a way to reduce the cost of the international protection system to the government.
Currently, asylum seekers in Ireland can be granted permission to work if they have been waiting more than 6 months for the first decision on their application.
The Sunday Independent reported
that one proposal says that 11,400 people in IPAS centres are estimated to have an income and would be eligible to pay the fee.
So, what has this got to do with a 'tax-free year'? Not much, it appears.
'Applicants for international protection are subject to the same system of taxation as all other people resident in Ireland,' a spokesperson for the Department of Justice told
The Journal.
'There is no exemption from income tax for applicants under the International Protection Accommodation Scheme who have an entitlement to work in Ireland,' Revenue said in response to the online claims.
Claims that asylum seekers or other foreign nationals have preferential treatment in Ireland are commonly spread by anti-immigration groups.
Thai year,
The Journal
has previously debunked claims that immigrants get
shorter prison sentences
than Irish citizens; that
traffic rules
do not apply to non-Irish people; that the Irish government pays Ukrainians to
repair their cars
or has spent
€200,000 per car
to help isolated Ukrainians; and that taxes go toward subsidising
foreign-owned businesses
.
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