Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 25: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of occasions since June 2002 on which aircraft have been chartered to facilitate the deportation of persons from this country; the cost involved in such charters; the number of persons deported in this way; the number who were children; the overall costs involved, including Garda man hours; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15661/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I should first point out that charter flights are not the only means by which persons who are illegally resident here are removed from the State. For example, in 2005, a total of 396 persons were deported from the State, of whom 247 were removed on chartered aircraft and the remaining 149 on scheduled commercial aircraft. A further 209 persons who had first claimed asylum in another EU state were removed to those states in 2005 under the Dublin II Regulations by means of scheduled commercial aircraft and, in a small number of instances, by ferry.

Furthermore, in 2005, a total of 335 persons opted for assisted voluntary repatriation to their countries of origin and these returns were affected on scheduled commercial aircraft. Of these 335 persons, 125 were directly assisted by my Department while the remaining 210 were assisted through the International Organisation for Migration, IOM, by means of specific schemes negotiated and funded by my Department.

In relation to the specific question raised by the Deputy, from January 2002 to date, 22 charter flights have been engaged for the purposes of deportation of persons illegally residing in the State. A total of 675 persons were deported in this way at a total cost of €3,061,223. Details of these charter flights, that is, dates, destinations, numbers deported — broken down into adults and minors, in so far as this information is available — and individual costs are as shown in the table below.

The above costs do not include Garda expenses associated with these removal operations. I am advised by the Garda Commissioner that, given the wide range of immigration duties performed by the Garda Siochána and the Garda National Immigration Bureau in particular, it is not possible to identify the particular pay and overtime costs incurred by the gardaí in relation to these charter flights. However, the Commissioner informs me that charter flights involve a lower ratio of garda escorts to deportees than is the case using conventional scheduled flights, resulting in savings to the Garda budget.

The number of escorting gardaí on each flight varies as it is dependent on a prior risk assessment of each removal operation carried out by the Garda National Immigration Bureau and on the policy of the particular airline. Given the large number of removal operations, it would involve a disproportionate use of Garda time and resources to provide details of the exact escort numbers used in each case. However it is usual for two escorts to accompany a single deportee, with a lower ratio used where more than one person is being removed to the same destination and on board charter flights.

There are two main categories of repatriation charter flights. First, smaller charters are organised to remove disruptive deportees whom commercial airlines will not take on account of previous disruptive behaviour on board aircraft and, second, larger charters organised to return more deportees in a more efficient way. It should also be noted that Ireland does not have direct flights to those destinations where the charters have taken place, with the exception of one exceptional situation where a charter operation was arranged to transfer an extremely disruptive and violent person to Spain.

As the Deputy will appreciate, the alternative to chartering is transiting through hub European airports involving longer transfer times, more inconvenience to deportees and the attendant risk of deportees absconding in transit.

Charter flights, including joint charters shared by two or more countries, are used widely across the European Union as an effective and efficient means of returning persons who are illegally present on the territories of member states following the individual consideration of their cases. The European Council of Ministers adopted a decision in April 2004 facilitating the greater use of joint repatriation flights as a means of demonstrating solidarity among member states, increasing the rate of returns and making more effective use of resources.

Ireland has carried out two such joint operations, namely, with the UK to Romania and Moldova on 18 November 2003 and with The Netherlands on 28 November 2003 to Romania and Bulgaria, details of which are provided in the table below.

It is well established that an effective deportation process is a necessary element of any immigration system. The lack of an effective means to deport persons not granted permission to remain in the State would call into question the integrity of the State's immigration and asylum laws.

In relation to the table below, I wish to point out to the Deputy that the costs given by me in response to recent Dáil queries in respect of the first three charter operations on the table below were overstated. It transpires that in converting the payments from Irish punts to euros an incorrect IR£-€ conversion calculation was made. I wish to apologise to this House for the error and I am notifying the Editor of the Dáíl Debates accordingly.