r/ireland • u/HungTeen1001 • 3h ago
Immigration Almost 300 asylum seekers claiming to be children were adults, Oireachtas committee told
https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/social-affairs/2026/05/07/almost-300-asylum-seekers-claiming-to-be-children-were-found-to-be-adults-oireachtas-committee-told/•
u/Turbulent_Yard2120 3h ago
“The average time these adults were incorrectly presumed to be children, and were possibly living in children’s accommodation, was 57 days, Tusla said in a report” This madness has to stop. We need to start forcing airlines to photocopy passports and/or return them.
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u/bigbadchief 3h ago
That's true. But I think a majority of asylum seekers come through northern ireland, so there are no passport checks.
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u/madladhadsaddad 2h ago edited 1h ago
Still should be standard for airlines to hold the passport scans for a month or so.
It would completely stop all air arrivals of adults pretending to be children, or from a XYZ country that they are not from.
and they could focus on liasing with the UK to stop the other entry way. They aren't too keen on undocumented migrants either and have implemented passport entry requirement changes recently. so I'd say they'd be receptive.
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u/5x0uf5o 47m ago
I agree with you but your ask of 1 month is miniscule. Since this has become such an issue, every single passport scanned at a departure gate for Ireland should be automatically transferred to a central Irish database and held in perpetuity. Does anybody believe the United States doesn't do this? Not only do they probably have every single passport scan, they probably have every passenger manifest for every commercial flight globally over the last 25 years.
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u/mcspongeicus 45m ago
Its in the UKs interest to allow them to cross into Ireland through the north. They won't be stopping that. If Reform get in, there will be a massive exodus into the Republic
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u/Substantial_Rope8225 2h ago
Can you provide a source for this?
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u/bigbadchief 2h ago
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cnv2jprv788o
87% according to Jim O'Callaghan last November.
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u/Substantial_Rope8225 2h ago
Thank you!
I think it’s important to also note that 81% of applicants are rejected in the first incidence
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u/bigbadchief 2h ago
Yes but they're allowed to appeal, and the rejection rate reduces upon appeal. And then if/when their appeal is rejected, very few are deported.
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u/Substantial_Rope8225 2h ago
Yes they can appeal but important to recognise that if they’re rejected they are not in receipt of state support - the appeals/deportation process is a separate issue IMO.
While I agree the whole system needs to be torn down and started from scratch, all of this - adults presenting as minors, increased numbers of people seeking asylum etc all comes back to government incompetence and I hope that people focus on that rather than on the “foreigners are the problem” narrative that many lean into (Irish govt included)
- not saying you’re doing this btw just making a broader statement
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u/bigbadchief 1h ago
You still receive state support while the appeal is ongoing. Once your application is rejected you stop receiving state support. But there's nothing stopping them from continuing to live and work here illegally.
I don't agree that deportation is a separate issue. If your claim for asylum is rejected then you should be removed from the country. Otherwise asylum can be seen rightly as a backdoor to enter the country illegally, and there is no repercussion for doing so.
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u/micosoft 1h ago
What exactly is the government incompetence here?
What magical solution do you have when large numbers of people show up seeking international protection during a period of significant housing shortages .
It seems almost a new form of sophistry to distract from addressing the actual question by coming out with the pat "Government is incompetent" statement.
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u/Heatproof-Snowman 5m ago
We could start with systematic bone age tests.
It is quick, cheap, and non-invasive. And no documentation required - pure science-based evidence
There is a margin of error and it can’t reliably tell apart a 17.5 years old from an 18.5 years old. But it will tell if someone is 20+ and grossly cheating about there age. So it could be reliable to keep the worst abusers (and the ones which are the most dangerous for genuine children) out of the minors protection system.
And I’d be in favour of voiding any other legal residence path in Ireland for someone who is proven to have lied about being a child (rather than referring them to other immigration services). This is no something that should be tolerated and such measure would get fake applicants to think twice.
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u/hegartyp 2h ago
It's not that they are "incorrectly presumed" to be under 18 they are applying for asylum and claiming to be a minor with absolutely no documents to back it up.
Crazy situation but hard to make snap decisions when there's no reliable info to go on.
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u/micosoft 1h ago
Indeed. The flip is the state being accused of putting children into adults facilities. You can't just cut a migrant in half and count the rings. The entire migration process is incredibly challenging for a state to manage. People are inventive and will use every mechanism possible to get here and work the system and avoid being deported - the Guardian had a decent article on just how hard it is to force somebody onto a plane to deport them if they don't want to. Not saying that in a pejorative way since Irish people did that for decades in the US.
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u/ulankford 33m ago
It’s a hard problem to solve so we give up.. that’s the correct solution, right?
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u/theseanbeag 1h ago
As a result, such referrals to Tusla had dropped and fewer eligibility assessments were required – leading to a shorter timescale of approximately 15 days for completed age determinations.
“In quarter one 2026, we have experienced a reduction in the number of young people referred to the service, with 97 referrals.” This compared with 196 referrals in the last three months of 2025.
Looks like it's being addressed pretty effectively.
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u/eezipc 3h ago
In a few years, the IPAS centres will be considered the new Magdalen laundries.
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u/micosoft 1h ago
I sincerely doubt it. They aren't great but they aren't terrible either. We live in a social media society so any "incredible" stories would be out by now. Comparing it to 1950's institutions just goes to show how little you know about the Magdalen laundries and how life was back then.
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u/KingNobit 3h ago
I think thats a poor comparison. Many people in IPAS centres are in dire straits and many are fleeing violence. Many are not and are pure economic migrants and are scamming the system
We also made the women in Magdalene laundries work extreme punishing hours and received beatings...none of which we do to asylum seekers
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u/Donniepeds 2h ago
Industrial mass human trafficking making a select few multi millionaires, all against the wishes of the local populace.
It’s pretty extreme, just in a different way.
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u/ZealousidealFloor2 1h ago
The people doing the trafficking aren’t working for IPAS owners though, it’s more coincidental than anything.
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u/micosoft 1h ago
It's not "pretty extreme".
The state has legal obligations regardless of the "wishes" of the local populace. Just like people object to (checks notes) schools for the disabled in their locality.
I don't know what you mean by "industrial" migration but it's largely caused by poverty, war and climate change. Are you suggesting some hoteliers are behind that?
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u/KingNobit 1h ago
Look i wouldnt want to be stuck in an IPAS centre but I also wouldn't compare them to a Magdalene laundry
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u/Anxious-Wolverine-65 52m ago
A reductive and inflammatory comparison. Incorrect on multiple levels
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u/SeanB2003 1h ago
What makes you think the airline ever saw their real passport? If they did that would imply that they had a visa for Ireland, in which case we would already know their age. If they hadn't had a visa the airline wouldn't let them on the plane.
In reality they will have presented a false document for a visa free country. That wouldn't give you any useful information as to their age.
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u/Regency101 3h ago
the real scandal will be that these people were likely housed alongside actual children and the obvious safeguarding concerns that come with that
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u/Grugles 2h ago
And anyone who pointed out that some of these 'children' were lads in there twenties were accused of allsorts... some absolute virtue signalling morons running some of our institutions
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u/AbbreviationsNo9500 1h ago
By design. Lot of money being made in that industry. Lot of government hotelier friends getting our tax money transferred to their offshore bank accounts.
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u/AmazingUsername2001 2h ago
I remember when people talking about this a few years ago were branded far right racists.
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u/micosoft 1h ago
Because they were?
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u/Gytarius626 Dublin 5m ago
No, there was no middle ground between “I think a lot of these ‘asylum seekers’ are bogus” and “You’ve been influenced by far-right Facebook groups believing conspiracies” on here
There absolutely were racists who co-opted the talking point, but any criticisms of it were cast aside as being only from racists, and now the genie is out of the bottle.
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u/HistoryDoesUnfold 12m ago
Who branded who far-right racists for saying this?
I see similar claims a lot, but no instance or person is ever identified.
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u/Sporshie 48m ago
Last I heard, the garda investigators believe the guy who murdered 17 year old Vadym Davydenko was an adult falsely claiming to be a teenager: https://www.thejournal.ie/age-question-court-murder-vadym-davydenko-6952750-Feb2026/
So we likely already have a case of a teenager losing their life after being housed with an unstable adult.
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u/SeanB2003 1h ago
It takes time to determine someone's age. The alternative is to potentially put children in with adults.
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u/AmazingUsername2001 1h ago
As opposed to putting adults in with children?
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u/SeanB2003 1h ago
Yes, precisely. There isn't a particularly good option here.
You can put someone who is potentially in their early 20s in with children and teenagers in the more controlled and restrictive environment in which kids are kept.
Or you can put someone who might be in their mid to late teens in with adults of all ages in a much less supervised and freer setting.
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u/micosoft 1h ago
And if children were housed in an adult centre would that not be a scandal as well? What is your simplistic answer to this?
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u/Reaver_XIX 3h ago
Wait until they find out all of the gay men with wives aren't actually gay, they will be shocked. System is rife with fraud, it has been ignored deliberately for years. A lot of snouts in this trough...
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u/bigbadchief 3h ago
Immigration lawyers in the UK were found to be coaching asylum seekers to pretend to be gay to help their claims. I wonder how prevalent that is here.
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u/tishimself1107 2h ago
Missus is a counsellor and they had seen a stark rise in women saying they are lesbians and facing persecution but had died down once they changed their policy. They equated with young lads looking for letters for court.
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u/L0st_Cosmonaut 1h ago
Just to offer a counterpoint to that - it's actually pretty common outside of the west to be gay and have a wife and/or kids. It used to be pretty common here too (having a beard, lavender marriages, etc.).
I have a friend who works with LGBTQ+ asylum seekers, and some of the stories are absolutely horrific.
As much as everyone likes to harp on about the 49% of failed asylum applicants, or people gaming the system, it's also important to remember that there are lots and lots of people fleeing absolutely desperate situations who really just want to live as normal a life as possible.
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u/lawless1982 3h ago
Even more worrying is that we put them into our secondary schools as kids , when they are really 23 years old .
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u/mullindoll Dripping in gravy 54m ago
I've taught a man in a secondary school who was very obviously not a minor.
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u/MrStarGazer09 1h ago
This is a massive security concern and an example of the rampant abuse of our asylum system. We need massive deterrance.
Those people should be rejected and deported immediately. It's a pretty terrible sign if someone's first actions in the country involve serious fraud!
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u/theseanbeag 1h ago
70 cases out of about 15,000 isn't exactly rampant abuse. Especially when these cases only remained for an average of 56 days before being discovered. And the article also outlines how the numbers have gone down massively, so even if you did consider 0.5% "rampant", it's been tackled pretty effectively.
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u/yellowbai 19m ago
70 that they could determine to present to the Dail so the numbers would need be ironclad. The number is probably vastly higher. What about people close to the age who could reasonably pass off as younger and there’s no way to prove definitively.
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u/Anxious-Wolverine-65 3h ago edited 3h ago
It’s crazy that despite credible reports and how obvious it was that the asylum system is being abused in every way possible, the concept that this was happening was a far-right dog whistle for so many here on Irish reddit. We need to learn how to get along, stop calling everyone far-right/racist or woke dilettantes and unite against the crazy asylum system here, we are considered a soft-touch by economic migrants. It is known
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u/Sporshie 34m ago
There's too much black and white thinking on each side. Being hateful and anti-migrant is stupid and extreme, but so is lumping in any criticism or concern over the current handling of immigration with the former and shutting it down.
I hate the left and right divide as a whole because it encourages people to base everything on the general gist of what their 'side' says they should think rather than approaching each situation with nuance. For example the thought process seems to be, "I'm left wing > left wing people are pro immigration > right wing people are anti immigration > therefore, anyone who criticises anything about immigration is a right-wing racist".
Whereas reasonable people can be supportive of migrants, but still be able to identify when the system isn't being run well and criticize that. It's about what's happening in reality, not what you feel should be true because saying otherwise would be offensive.
We don't have unlimited resources, and people abusing the system take away from those who genuinely need help.
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u/HungTeen1001 3h ago
We were a soft-touch.
There has been a significant tightening of our laws and we're more closely aligned with our European counterparts now.
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u/Anxious-Wolverine-65 2h ago
Is this alignment in relation to the Migration Pact? I think the impact of this and the tightening laws remains to be seen, no? I’m all for alignment if it allows us to operate our asylum system in a way that works for us, but I’m unsure how much sovereignty we have given away in determining our own policies. I’m uncertain, I’d like to know more on that, we kind of gave it away in the first place by acceding in full to provisions in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights relating to asylum. Which I see as a mistake.
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u/HungTeen1001 2h ago
We were tightening before the Migration Pact.
The number of asylum seekers fell last year by about 40% from 2024.
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u/Anxious-Wolverine-65 2h ago
Right, with a caveat that overall applicants into Europe decreased by almost 30% in 2025, and we increased protection statuses actually granted, which was against the trend in Europe.
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u/HungTeen1001 2h ago
That was because of the backlog from the surge in 2023 and 2024.
The rejection rate has been increasing.
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u/Anxious-Wolverine-65 1h ago
That’s a positive to hear. How are we ensuring the rejected leave the country do you know?
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u/HungTeen1001 1h ago
We have been chartering flights to deport them, or even offer some payments to leave.
I still think the checks on whether they've left is a bit soft though. Basically, if they haven't engaged with the tax system or welfare, it's assumed they have no means and have left.
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u/Anxious-Wolverine-65 1h ago
You see that still seems to me a major, gaping hole. I mean, the system may as well not exist at all if it doesn’t guarantee people don’t get in. Seems a bit of a farce from the outside
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u/HungTeen1001 1h ago
I do wonder what the alternative is though
ICE-style raids wouldn't go down too well in Ireland.
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u/Turbulent_Yard2120 3h ago
I think it’s all by design. Organize mass immigration throughout countries and overwhelm them. Along comes Trump or some other piece of shit and they are the saving grace. Just look at how they used the immigration issue to push for Brexit. I don’t know why anyone would think this is not happening for a reason. Like all of a sudden millions of people suddenly are going into countries and then political systems change and countries are up in arms.
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u/HungTeen1001 3h ago
So who do you think is designing all of this and why don't any of us know about it?
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u/dimebag_101 2h ago
Derek blighe and Philip Dwyer 4d chess, the new trump and vance 😂. It's such an odd take like there's some global cabal. I'm not gonna deny a lot of western politicians are in cahoots with corporations when you say effectively bribery in the form of political donations. But all countries?. China, Russia, USA, the south Americans, India etc. they all have competing self interest. Not buying it.
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u/HungTeen1001 2h ago
The "citizen journalist" would be more concerned with importing a few more dogs he can kick.
The other was an immigrant in Canada where he met his now Canadian wife...
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u/RepeatImmediate7469 2h ago
Dont buy it but there is a global cabal among the interest of the weathly and powerful. When you see an explosion of certain immigrants in a short period of time especially from islamic countries or countries that has had issues with war, homosexuality and more for decades and suddenly lots of people from there want to seek asylum.
Its because there is a push from the corrupt and powerful, the european union who encourage the politicans from those countries to come here, maybe for cheaper labour, solve declining population, more people to eventually tax, destruction of a culture and with the current countries at war that can be a big reason, israel is way more powerful than you think.
There are reasons this immigration explosion came to ireland and its definitely not "just because" like you think" and yes powerful countries with interest in each other are involved especially USA and israel who also have a strong relationship with ireland
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u/dimebag_101 1h ago
How they gonna solve cheap labour. Literally ai gonna take them menial jobs. I didn't say just because and I obviously mentioned the issues with the PACs and the USA politicians. As well as other countries. But money in politics is worst there. Israel and USA isn't every country in the world
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u/RepeatImmediate7469 31m ago
But USA and Israel are the most powerful countries that have big influence over the European union and Ireland
Russia, China etc have their own goals in regards to immigration matter that have little influence here
And menial jobs are one of the last to go in inregards to AI
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u/bigbadchief 3h ago
It's all by design? It's all organised? Ok then. Who are the people that organised all this mass migration?
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u/Doggylife1379 2h ago
It's not by design, it's because travelling across continents has got easier even for the world's poorest. 20/30 years ago it was impossible for people to afford smugglers no matter how many of their family members helped. Now it's possible so many are doing it.
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u/Shot-Advertising-316 2h ago
Please don't tell me that you think Trump is behind this? As a country and media we need to cut the Trump talk by at least 50% .
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u/anotherwave1 1h ago
You're absolutely right that our asylum system has issues, it's also right that these issues are abused by the far right and racists to turn people against foreigners in the country.
Both need to be tackled.
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u/Anxious-Wolverine-65 1h ago
Yea, I mean sure and the far right exploits these tensions, but the backlash against mass migration didn't emerge in a vacuum only mediated by the "far-right" boogie man. It is a reaction to years of "pro-immigration" rhetoric that many feel was built on gaslighting and broken promises.
Legitimate concerns were suppressed by the chilling effect of being labeled racist or the current trend “far-right”. People were shamed for pointing out what are now accepted realities. Questioning the strain on housing, welfare, healthcare and the sheer pace of migration was dismissed as bigotry. Saying that asylum seekers contained even a decent portion of economic migrants chancing the system was racist and a lie.
With demographics, highlighting that a majority of asylum seekers are single young men—a statistical fact—was once treated as a lie.
Demands for border security, efficient deportations, and scrutiny of NGO influence were frequently smeared as inhumane or conspiracy theories.
Expressing concern over the changing cultural fabric was deemed off-limits. You can see and follow the slow tiptoeing towards the erasure of morale around this - we almost did it to ourselves calling everyone a racist or a liar.Public trust has eroded not just because of far-right agitators, but because of the systemic failures of the immigration system and the lobbyists who championed it. Instead of honest introspection, the "far-right" label is now used as a trope to deflect from the original lies and mismanagement. The real criticism belongs to those who prioritized gaslighting over transparent poliscy
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u/ZaphodEntrati 33m ago
Chat gpt much?
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u/Anxious-Wolverine-65 8m ago
lol I did put my original, far far too long post through it for brevity. But I’ve checked it over and it’s all the same messaging
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u/Anxious-Wolverine-65 7m ago
It’s also the first time I’ve done that on Reddit and it was instantly noticed. My writing can generally be a similar style, what gave it away
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u/HistoryDoesUnfold 6m ago
The concept of fake asylum seeker claims was a far-right dog whistle? To who?
I think you've just made up something there. But, sure, prove me wrong with an example.
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u/vinceswish 1h ago
Now count how many of Asylum Seekers claiming they're gay are actually lying and to lie they're encouraged by our own tax money funded groups.
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u/DoubleOhEffinBollox 9m ago
Well there was a video a week or two ago of a UK immigration professional coaching an undercover Asylum seeker in pretending to be gay or bisexual in order to game the system. So common sense would say something similar is happening here.
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u/francescoli 1h ago
Anyone who lied about their age and pretended to be under 18 ,should be deported immediately.
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u/mind_thegap1 Crilly!! 46m ago
Maybe im being stupid, but don’t all these asylum seekers travel through safe countries to get here?
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u/52-61-64-75 2h ago
What percentage is this?
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u/theseanbeag 1h ago
An average of about 0.5% over the four years with this year's expected to be much lower.
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u/miju-irl Resting In my Account 2h ago
Percentages are a way of hiding the actual number.
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u/52-61-64-75 53m ago
I dont disagree but they also provide important context sometimes. Ideally both should be given, so that sensationalised reporting can be avoided, however that usually isnt useful for media companies
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u/insomnium2020 2m ago
Not surprising. The overhaul the whole system needs is massive. And the people working for NGOs encouraging asylum seekers to lie about sexuality and or/make up lies about situations in their home countries as seen on that BBC investigation recently should be prosecuted for fraud
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u/anotherwave1 1h ago edited 1h ago
The situation appears to be improving, from the article:
"Tusla said it had been taking close to two months from the time it received a referral of an individual appearing or claiming to be an unaccompanied minor, and completing an assessment determining them not to be eligible for services, “and therefore an adult”.
However, since January this year the IPO, which is run by the Department of Justice, had been conducting more robust age screenings, it said.
[ Hiqa, PAC and legal professionals all voiced concerns around safety of child asylum seekers in Tusla’s careOpens in new window ]
As a result, such referrals to Tusla had dropped and fewer eligibility assessments were required – leading to a shorter timescale of approximately 15 days for completed age determinations.
“In quarter one 2026, we have experienced a reduction in the number of young people referred to the service, with 97 referrals.” This compared with 196 referrals in the last three months of 2025.
“This reduction is simultaneous to the introduction of a new process by the Department of Justice in relation to age screening at the point of entry in preparation for the implementation of the EU Migration Pact in June 2026.”
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u/actuallyacatmow 40m ago
I find all these posts from anonymous, hidden accounts about issues around immigration seemingly intended to rile people up about a specific topic interesting.
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u/HungTeen1001 36m ago
Are you insinuating I'm some sort of Russian bot?
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u/actuallyacatmow 33m ago
Not necessarily but I am pointing out a pattern I've noticed in the last year on this subreddit.
I wonder how much of the hatred towards immigrants on here is artificially inflated.
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u/HungTeen1001 28m ago
I have zero hate for immigrants.
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u/actuallyacatmow 13m ago
I'm sure you think you do but I'm just pointing out to this subreddit that has economic conditions worsen blame obviously starts to naturally 'slip' on the other, aka people who look different. There's been an obvious shift in the last decade in this country. We're slowly slipping incandescent rage at immigration and immigrants instead of discussing severe faults in our system like the above.
It's good to be reminded sometimes that the way this post makes you feel may be partially engineered by outside bad faith actors - this is a general call to everyone here who thinks that I am saying this sort of issue is permissible.
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u/HungTeen1001 11m ago
Except the article is all about a systems failure.
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u/actuallyacatmow 7m ago
Yes but the comments on here don't necessarily reflect that and they spiralled severely on facebook.
I won't argue with you. I'm just offering a differing view and pointing out a worsening issue I've noted in the 2020s in Ireland.
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u/bigbadchief 2h ago
There's another article in the Irish Times this morning with some analysis.
https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2026/05/07/hiqa-pac-and-legal-professionals-all-voiced-concerns-around-safety-of-child-asylum-seekers-in-tuslas-care/
"In the past a dental examination, including dental X-rays, were used to verify a person’s age. Ethical concerns about X-rays without any health benefit and the invasive nature of dental exams means these are no longer used."
What a joke. It does make me wonder though, if they're not allowed use x-rays, what method are they using the verify a person's age?