MULTIPLE SOCIAL MEDIA posts have incorrectly claimed that 800 Ukrainian refugees in Ireland have formally applied for asylum since August.

Many of the posts have implied that this is in attempt to receive better benefits along with claims that Ukraine is not a dangerous place, common themes among those who try to portray Ukrainians as not being legitimate refugees. 

However, the claim is false and stems from misreporting in a newspaper that was explained in a clarification that was published in the same paper the following day.

The actual number of Ukrainians who have sought asylum in Ireland since August of this year is 56, less than one-fourteenth of the figures falsely claimed online.

The “more than 800″ estimate was of all Ukrainians formally seeking asylum since the start of 2022, when Russia invaded.

People fleeing the war in Ukraine do not have to apply for asylum due to an EU Temporary Protection Directive activated in March 2022 in response to the war.

While people here under Temporary Protection can theoretically claim asylum as well, such instances are rare.

Despite the newspaper’s clarification, social media posts spreading the incorrect larger number as part of anti-Ukrainian or anti-migrant messages remain online.

“These yahoos are living in the state for some time, their money is being reduced, and as a result they’re applying for international protection, changing their own status purely to skin more money out of the Irish taxpayer?” one Facebook post featuring the claim said on 8 October.

“Almost 800 Ukrainians ­living in Ireland have applied for asylum since August. Ukrainians: all grifters,” a post on X made that same day read.

“Where does this gravy train end?” was the conclusion of a screed based on the incorrect figure posted by The Irish Inquiry that day, a self-described “news/media company” that regularly spreads misinformation about everything from vaccines to immigration.

The Irish Inquiry’s post also included a GoFundMe link to provide financial support to the two people behind the site who are campaigning in the upcoming general election.

The claim appears to have originated from a misunderstanding published in The Irish Independent earlier that day.

“A recent cabinet meeting heard that almost 800 Ukrainians in Ireland have applied for asylum since August, which senior officials say ‘needs to be monitored and mitigated’,” part of a story the newspaper’s front page from that date read.

However, the following day, a clarification was published explaining that this was not the correct figure.

“In an article in yesterday’s edition of the Irish Independent, it was stated that 800 Ukrainians have applied for asylum status in Ireland since August 2024,” the clarification said.

“This is actually the figure for the number of Ukrainians who have sought asylum since February 2022.

“We are happy to clarify that the figure for applications since August was 56.”

The Department of Justice also separately confirmed to The Journal that only been 56 asylum applications have been made by Ukrainians since August of this year.

Since January 2022, the month before Russia invaded, a total of 826 Ukrainians have applied for international protection in Ireland.

The Department of Justice also included details that address another misinformation narrative spread Ukrainians who have applied for asylum.

That narrative claimed that Ukrainians who have applied for international protection in Ireland already lived here, but just wanted more benefits.

Figures from the Department show that this was not the case for the vast majority of applicants.

Of the 826 asylum applications from Ukrainians made in Ireland since the start of the war, only 116 were from people who were previously granted Temporary Protection under a visa scheme granted to those fleeing the war.

“In many cases, these have been made by people from Ukraine that were not in Ukraine when Russia invaded in February 2022 and are therefore not eligible for Temporary Protection,” the department said.

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