Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

Under section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999, the Minister for Justice and Law Reform may make a deportation order that requires any foreign national specified in the order to leave the State within such period as may be specified in the order and to remain thereafter out of the State. Thus, a deportation order is a requirement imposed on a person to leave the State and to remain outside of the State. Where a person fails to leave the State, he or she is required to report to the Garda National Immigration Bureau, GNIB.

Details of the number of deportation orders signed and effected in the period 1 January 2008 to 31 August 2010 are as follows: in 2008, there were a total of 757 deportation orders signed, of which 161 were effected; in 2009, there were a total of 1,077 deportation orders signed, of which 291 were effected; up until 31 August this year, I have signed 495 deportation orders, of which 171 were effected by that date.

So as to give the House the full picture I should also add that in the period in question a further 529 persons in 2008, 539 persons in 2009 and 286 persons up to 31 August 2010 also left the State as voluntary returns. A further 271 persons in 2008, 243 persons in 2009 and 114 persons up to 31 August 2010 were returned to other EU member States under the Dublin regulation. An additional 40 EU citizens in 2008, 29 EU citizens in 2009 and 18 EU citizens up to 31 August 2010 were removed to their home country under the European Communities (Free Movement of Persons)(No 2) Regulations 2006.

The figures for deportation orders effected I have provided to the House reflect the numbers of deportations that have been enforced, by the GNIB by escorting individuals to another State or by placing them on a carrier leaving the State. It is generally accepted that many other persons served with a deportation order leave the State at that stage but do not inform the immigration authorities of their departure.

Clearly, the making of a deportation order has the most serious consequences for individuals in that it renders their continued presence in the State unlawful. The gardaí who enforce all the deportation orders advise that it is their view that very many people who are the subject of deportation orders will have already left the State.

Moreover, it is also the case that in this jurisdiction as it is in others, that significant numbers of people who are the subject of deportation orders leave voluntarily on receipt of the order. As exit checks from the State are not in use, it is not possible to indicate with any degree of precision the numbers who may be in this category but all the available evidence suggests that the number is likely to be considerable.

A deportation order is normally accompanied by a notice requiring the person concerned to comply with arrangements to ensure that he or she leaves the State. Failure to comply with those arrangements is an offence and can result in the person being arrested and detained to ensure his or her removal from the State. Furthermore, the enforcement of some deportations can be delayed by judicial challenges taken by the parties involved.

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