Petition Launched To Remove Far-Right Activist From Asylum Appeals Body
A petition has been launched to remove Brenda Power, a known far-right activist and barrister, from serving as a decision-maker on the State’s asylum appeals body.
A petition has been launched to remove Brenda Power, a known far-right activist and barrister, from serving as a decision-maker on the State’s asylum appeals body.
The International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) is responsible for deciding on appeals to failed asylum applications.
According to public records, Power’s contract with IPAT lasts until August 26th 2029. She has a 0% grant rate out of all 103 of her published appeals decisions. A barrister and journalist by trade, she is a far-right agitator, and has seen her fair share of controversies over her reactionary opinions.
For instance, she is a rabid transphobe, having been hosted by Wicklow Women 4 Women in March 2026. This is an anti-trans-rights organisation campaigning for the overturn of the Gender Recognition Act 2015. There are also other instances, as described by the petition, in which she had expressed transphobic views under the guise of defending women’s rights.
At the same time, she has voiced opposition to other LGBT rights too. In July 2009, she had attacked the gay community by stating they “insist that their nature is an inherent, essential reality, and not a lifestyle choice. But if we were to judge by the get-up and carry-on of some of those in the Pride march [last week], that’s hard to believe”. She is also opposed to adoption by LGBT couples, having said that “I wouldn't like a child to be brought up by two men dressed all day in women's clothes, to be frank”.
The most worrying, however, is her racism, Islamophobia and xenophobia, raising serious questions concerning the vetting process of IPAT decision-makers. In an Irish Independent article on the 22nd of March 2026, she used the phrase ‘“every week, 40,000 gallons of human waste are trucked out of a refugee ‘town’ in Kippure, Co Wicklow” in reference to the demolition of an IPAS center. In January 2016, she had claimed, in a statement to the Daily Mail, that “until our leaders are honest about the fear Islamists strike in our hearts, terror will always triumph”. In 2015, she accused the Irish Traveller community of "beating their own cousins in family rows" and "torturing and murdering old folk and causing mayhem on school playgrounds".
The petition points out that despite her supposed stance in defence of women’s rights, she has rejected 7 appeals concerning women asylum seekers. In addition, the petition highlights that this is not the first time IPAT allowed reactionaries to be decision-makers, as seen with the case of Una McGurk and the Irish Freedom Party. The petition calls on Hilkka Becker, Chairperson of IPAT, to intervene.
Anyone who is having their appeals heard by her has the right to request a recusal due to clear bias.
