A VIRAL CHART claiming that migrant apprentices are far better off financially than Irish apprentices has no basis in fact.

A graphic has been shared on social media that purports to show the differences in income and expenses of Irish apprentices on one side and migrant apprentices in an opposite column.

The weekly income and costs of an “Irish apprentice” listed are on the left-hand side, and claim that Irish workers have “often very little or nothing” at the end of the week, as their total income and total expenses are almost the same.

In contrast, the income and costs for a (hypothetical) migrant apprentice on the right side of the graphic claims that they end up with €383 profit each week for doing the same job.

“Same income, unequal costs,” a message at the end of the image concludes. “Who really benefits?”

Versions of the chart have been spread widely online, with versions on Facebook and X each being shared hundreds of times in the last week.

A viral chart that appears to have invented its figures.

Invented numbers

No further information is given in the chart as to who this ‘migrant’ is — whether they moved from an EU country, if they have a visa, or whether they might be a Ukrainian refugee or an asylum seeker.

The figures listed don’t make sense for any of these options. And there is no indication of who made the chart, we cannot ask where the figures came from.

Under a heading titled weekly costs for this ‘migrant’ worker, it reads: “Rent: free. Food: free.”

The idea of free housing and food appears to be referencing asylum seekers or Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTP, the technical category for Ukrainians who fled to Ireland).

Under the direct provision system, asylum seekers are often offered a place in accommodation centres, which also provides meals (though in many cases, places were unavailable and asylum seekers have slept on the streets). Newly arrived BOTPs are given 90-day stays at Designated Accommodation Centres, which also provide food.

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. 

In any case, the weekly income given on the chart does not make sense for either of these groups. 

For both the Irish and the migrant apprentice, the chart gives a weekly income of €250. However, in addition, the Migrant Apprentice is also listed as having an additional income from “State Support” of €133.

There are no such payments for either asylum seekers or Ukrainian refugees. Housed BOTPs and asylum seekers are given just €38.80 a week, less than a third of what the chart claims.

However, the hypothetical migrant in the chart wouldn’t even qualify for that.

These payments are subject to an income test. Anyone earning €61 a week has their payment reduced. Anyone making €125 or more is cut off.

There are other potential payments, such as Further Education and Training (FET) allowances. However, these payments are open to Irish citizens too and do not match the figure in the chart. 

And there are programmes to encourage employment in disadvantaged groups, such as migrants, though these fund projects for training rather than giving cash to migrants. 

It is unclear where the chart’s figure of €133 comes from — the figure does not appear in government documents as a weekly payment to migrants.

In any case, there are no such payments for migrants who are earning more than €250 a week.

In a more accurate chart, both the Irish and the migrant’s income could both simply read “work: €250”. 

It should be noted that this €250 figure is realistic, but at the lower end of the scale.

For example, as of 2023, the minimum rate of pay for a first-year apprentice in the construction industry is €7.91 an hour. Meaning that, at a 40-hour week, they should be paid at least €316. This rate rises each year, up to €21.36 in Year Four (or about €854 a week).

However, the hypothetical people in the chart could be in a different industry, or be working less than 40 hours a week.  

Costs

Given that the income of our hypothetical apprentices should be the same, what about the differences in costs?

We’ve already seen that the cost of rent and food given for the ‘Migrant apprentice’ are both listed as free on the graphic. However, it goes on to also list “Travel” as being free.

The ‘Irish apprentice’s’ situation is starkly different.

“Rent: €200″, the left side of the chart reads. “Food €75. Car (insurance, tax, NCT, fuel): €80.”

But these lists are not comparing the same things — the ‘Irish apprentice’s’ “car” expenses are compared with a ‘migrant apprentice’s’ “travel”.

Claims that there are special schemes to pay for cars for Ukrainians have long been shared across the internet. One such claim was actually referring to a payment that is also open to Irish people on a low income or social welfare.

Another claim, made by a TD, suggested that a now-ceased government scheme was spending €200,000 per car on a scheme to help Ukrainian refugees without transportation links in Ireland. That claim was false.

Ukrainian refugees arriving in the country only get free travel to where they are living on certain public transport services.

Previously, some Ukrainians who were disabled or were working as carers had also qualified for the Free Travel Scheme, though many of these passes have been withdrawn as part of cuts to welfare entitlements.

The Free Travel Scheme does not provide preferential treatment for migrants.

The comparison of the €80 weekly cost of a car to free public transport would therefore be disingenuous if it referred to a real thing — but it doesn’t even do that.

The chart also lists an item called: “Manual Handling and Safe Pass courses”, which is listed as “paid” for the Irish apprentice, and “free” for the migrant.

It is unclear what this means, though it may indicate a claim that Irish apprentices have to pay for these courses themselves while migrants do not.

Safepass is a one-day safety awareness programme aimed at construction workers. A manual handling course is a short training session on how to avoid injuries caused by lifting heavy objects. 

However, Safepass is usually paid by employers and many manual handling courses cost less than €40 and can also sometimes be covered by government grants.

The Journal did not find any schemes to pay for these courses that are closed to Irish citizens.

In other words, it is unclear what this line in the chart is supposed to mean or whether it refers to anything real.

These certificates last for years. Given a cost of, say €40, for such a course, it would likely amount to about 25 cent when considered on a weekly basis.

The graphic is misleading and appears to be the latest in a deluge of claims that Irish people are treated poorly compared to immigrants. 

The Journal has also previously debunked claims that the government is giving migrants €60,000 to start new businesses; that asylum seekers are exempt from income tax for a year after they are allowed to work; that the High Court had ruled ‘illegal immigrants should be paid €318 per week’; that immigrants get shorter prison sentences than Irish citizens; that traffic rules do not apply to non-Irish people; that the Irish government had created a grant for Ukrainians to start their own businesses; and that the government is offering tens of thousands of euro to coax Indians to live on Ireland’s small islands.

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