Far-right "columnist" Brenda Power is currently deciding the fates of vulnerable refugees fleeing persecution. Brenda Power is serving as an IPAT decision maker (page 27, entry 86) who's contract doesn't expire until 26 August 2029. Brenda's  public commentary concerning refugees, LGBTQ people, Muslims, and Travellers warrant scrutiny against the standards of impartiality required of someone entrusted with determining international protection appeals. 

Chairperson of the International Protection Appeals Tribunal, Hilkka Becker is directly responsible for this  affront to justice. 

• As it stands on the publicly available Tribunal Decisions Archive, Brenda Power has a 0% grant rate out of all 103 of her published IPAT decisions. 

Below are examples of Brenda Power's abhorrent actions and public statements towards marginalized groups starting with transgender people:

Brenda Power was an advertised panellist at a conference hosted by Wicklow Women 4 Women, an anti-trans-rights organisation campaigning for the overturn of the Gender Recognition Act 2015. Held in Dublin on 7 March 2026, the conference focused on efforts to repeal the Act and featured representatives of Genspect, an organisation designated as an anti-LGBTQ+ hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. A founding member of Wicklow Women 4 Women also promoted the conference through Genspect's website. Independent reporting by the Irish Examiner documented the conference's repeal agenda. Power's participation places her alongside organised opposition to transgender legal recognition in Ireland.

Brenda Power's public anti-trans statements:

• “Under the Gender Recognition Act (2015) all a man needs to do is to make a statutory declaration in front of a solicitor and he's a woman!” - 12 June 2022 — The Sunday Times
• “If male murderers are recorded as female, crime stats are meaningless” - 15 February 2026 — Irish Independent

The Beacon reported that Power had compared "transgender people's sense of self with the experience of anorexia."  - 19 December 2022 — The Beacon

Brenda Power's Islamaphobic Statements:

• “Until our leaders are honest about the fear Islamists strike in our hearts, terror will always triumph” - 5 January 2016 — Irish Daily Mail as recorded by a European Islamaphobia Report (page 288 footnote 43)

Brenda Power's anti-refugee sentiment:

On 22 March 2026, Brenda Power used the phrase “40,000 gallons of human waste” in an Irish Independent headline about the demolition of an IPAS centre in Wicklow, invoking dehumanising imagery in her commentary on refugees.

• “Every week, 40,000 gallons of human waste are trucked out of a refugee ‘town’ in Kippure, Co Wicklow” - 22 March 2026 — Irish Independent

Brenda Power's historical statements about gay people:

• “Homosexuals insist that their nature is an inherent, essential reality, and not a lifestyle choice.” — 5 July 2009 — The Sunday Times, quoted by GCN

Power argued against same-sex marriage in her July 2009 column. In February 2015, she subsequently stated that she intended to vote Yes in Ireland's marriage-equality referendum. — GCN, 24 March 2015

Brenda Power's statements about Irish Travellers:

• “If Travellers want ethnic status they ought to get rid of those slash hooks and settle” — 8 April 2014 — Irish Daily Mail, reported by TheJournal.ie
• “milk the State for all they're worth” — April 2014 — Irish Daily Mail, quoted by The Irish Times

Power's April 2014 column was condemned by Ireland's Equality Authority, which described it as demeaning and hurtful. The Press Ombudsman subsequently acknowledged that the article contained generalisations about Travellers and caused offence. — The Irish Times​ | Pavee Point

• “They've singled me out for targeting by a group of people not known for settling their disagreements with debate, they settle them with machetes.” — 9 April 2014 — Irish Independent

Brenda Power claims to defender of "women's safety."

• “Our woke gender laws seem to be there to protect the feelings of men... rather than the safety of women.” — Daily Mail, March 2026

But how does Brenda Power actually treat women who fled their countries due to violence, sexual assault or domestic abuse and how does she prioritize the "safety of women?" These cases are publicly available and were found on Tribunal Decisions Archive. 

• 2485896-IPAP-24 – South African woman alleging three rapes. Power acknowledged that rape is heavily underreported but still treated the absence of police reports as part of the adverse credibility assessment.
• 2525327-IPAP-24 – Georgian woman alleging serious domestic violence. Power relied in part on her failure to seek police protection and held that she could not impugn Georgian protection without having sought it.
• 2535440-IPAP-25 – South African woman alleging domestic abuse and marital rape. She sought an oral hearing; Power decided the appeal on the papers.
• 2649052-IPAP-25 – Georgian domestic-violence case involving alleged serious injuries. Power acknowledged that victims may not recall events precisely, but relied on omissions, expected medical records and assumptions about what doctors or police would have done.
• 2655276-IPAP-25 – South African woman alleging domestic violence, miscarriage after a beating, rape by seven men and rape by her husband. Power accepted that trauma can affect memory but rejected key allegations based on discrepancies and missing medical evidence.
• 2711100-IPAP-25 / 2711071-IPAP-25 – Georgian woman alleging abuse, attempted rape and attempted kidnapping. Power treated failure to report the alleged abduction and omissions about police connections as credibility problems.
• 2741810-IPAP-26 – South African appellant alleging repeated violent attacks. Power criticised the account for lacking the detail and specificity she said might be expected from the victim of traumatic attacks.

We demand that the responsible authorities including Hilkka Becker take the immediate steps necessary to remove Brenda Power from the International Protection Appeals Tribunal and issue a public statement confirming they have done so. Brenda Power's removal from IPAT is non-negotiable.

 

This is also not the first time IPAT has harboured a far right extremist as a decision maker. 

• Una McGurk SC: In August 2020, serving IPAT member Una McGurk addressed an anti-lockdown rally alongside members of the anti-immigration Irish Freedom Party. The event was also attended by National Party activists displaying an anti-immigration banner. Taoiseach Micheál Martin publicly questioned whether her participation was compatible with membership of IPAT. The Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI) demanded her removal and a review of her decisions. McGurk was not immediately removed, but the Minister for Justice subsequently declined to renew her appointment in February 2021.  - RTÉ News, 24 August 2020​ | The Irish Times, February 2021

 

NOTICE TO ANYONE WITH A PENDING IPAT CASE: YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REQUEST THE RECUSAL OF BRENDA POWER

If Brenda Power has been assigned to determine your pending IPAT appeal, you may ask for her recusal and reassignment of your case. The relevant authorities include Article 47 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; sections 61(3), 63(3), 65(2) and 67(2)–(4) of the International Protection Act 2015; IPAT Chairperson's Guideline 2023/2 (Code of Conduct and Rules on Conflict of Interest); and Guideline 2026/1 (Assigning and Re-Assigning Appeals). Irish case law, including O'Callaghan v Mahon [2007] IESC 17, recognises the principle of objective bias. Contact your solicitor promptly, or write to the IPAT Registrar if unrepresented, explaining your specific concerns, you can cite this public petition as grounds for requesting the removal of this woman from your case.

 

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