FALSE: Ukrainian refugees are repairing cars at the expense of European taxpayers — journalist Chay Bowes
Verification within Meta’s Third-Party Fact-Checking Program
Social media users are spreading a statement by Irish journalist Chay Bowes on the platform X. He claims that Ukrainian refugees are allegedly repairing their cars with money from European taxpayers, supposedly through a special government program.
This is false. There is no separate government program for repairing Ukrainians’ vehicles. Chay Bowes is a journalist who systematically spreads narratives in the West that align with Russian propaganda.
Screenshot of the post
Chay Bowes did, in fact, publish such a post on the platform X. Claims about an alleged program under which the Irish government pays for car repairs for Ukrainians have circulated before. The narrative gained popularity on TikTok after a video from a car service, in which a man said that their workshop had repaired Ukrainian cars several times and, in some cases, the costs were covered through Ireland’s Department of Social Protection. The video went viral, and based on it, a fake was spread claiming that Ukrainians were allegedly getting their cars repaired en masse at the expense of Irish taxpayers.
In reality, there is no such separate program — these were isolated cases where repairs might have been partially covered through the general program Additional Needs Payment (ANP), which is available to all low-income residents of Ireland.
Additional Needs Payment (ANP) is a one-time payment for low-income individuals who cannot independently cover basic expenses such as home repairs, electricity bills, food, or, in some cases, car repairs.
This support existed before the arrival of Ukrainians and is available to all low-income individuals, regardless of citizenship. There is no evidence that Ukrainians receive such payments more frequently or enjoy special privileges for car repairs.
Until the end of 2024, Ukrainians who worked remotely for Ukrainian employers and paid taxes in Ukraine were indeed exempt from paying income tax and the Universal Social Charge (USC) in Ireland. However, starting in 2025, these exemptions were revoked, and all Ukrainians working or earning other income in Ireland are now required to pay standard taxes: income tax, USC, and Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI).
Moreover, journalist Chay Bowes systematically spreads Russian disinformation. In 2023, he became a correspondent for the television channel Russia Today, regularly gives interviews to Russian media, and repeats narratives similar to Kremlin propaganda. We previously published a separate article about him and his disinformation activities in the West.