Vulnerable people will have access to free and confidential tax advice with the expansion of a University of Galway project into local libraries.
Designed to help people find their way through a tax system that increasingly operates online, the Enabling Tax Literacy and Empowerment: Understanding Your Rights and Responsibilities programme is being run jointly by Galway Public Libraries and the University of Galway’s award-winning Tax Clinic.
It offers people one-to-one consultations with trained tax advisers and supervised student volunteers. The service is being targeted at vulnerable members of the community, including lone parents and victims of domestic abuse.
The Tax Clinic’s goal is to assist and educate unrepresented taxpayers with the skills to look after their own tax affairs. Many people currently either fill in their tax forms incorrectly or don’t file them at all, meaning they can miss out on refunds or fail to claim tax credits to which they are entitled.
READ MORE
County librarian Elizabeth Keane described the programme as a way of helping people to “regain control over their financial lives in a safe, supportive environment”.
[ When do we have to start paying tax on the trust set up by our late father?Opens in new window ]
“This project is about more than taxes, it’s about empowerment,” she added. “By bringing professional tax guidance into our libraries, we are helping lone parents and survivors of domestic violence reclaim control over their finances, build confidence and take ownership of their futures.”
Prof Emer Mulligan, director of the Tax Clinic, which was initially established in 2023 to help students and vulnerable communities with their tax affairs, said the collaboration “extends the clinic’s reach into the community with real-world impact, while giving students valuable experiential learning opportunities as future tax professionals”.
The scheme is seen as a pilot for what could become a network of similar initiatives nationally offering inclusive financial literacy in safe, accessible community settings.
“This marks a significant step forward in inclusive financial literacy,” said Eileen Ruane, director of services at Galway County Council. “Embedding tax education in trusted community spaces helps tackle financial abuse and economic exclusion while strengthening libraries’ role as hubs for lifelong learning.”
