Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 172: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if estimates have been made of the number of illegal immigrants here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33156/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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An illegal immigrant is a person whose presence in the State is otherwise than in accordance with our immigration laws. Obviously the term covers persons who entered the State in breach of those laws — either covertly or using false documentation. However, it also covers persons who entered lawfully but remain beyond the duration of the permission given, or who, although required to adhere to certain conditions (e.g. prohibited from working), are in breach of those conditions.

It is difficult to quantify persons engaging in this type of illegal activity — as, by definition, such persons are motivated to ensure either that they remain hidden or at least to ensure that the illegal aspect of their presence in the State remains hidden. Their physical presence in the State is characterised by the absence of a permission or by the misuse of a permission which has been granted — matters which do not lend themselves easily to objective statistical analysis. As a result very few modern democratic countries are able to produce reliable statistics on the numbers of illegal immigrants who are present within their territories.

Persons in the State considered to be illegal immigrants, have come from a range of different circumstances, including:

1. failing to present to an Immigration Officer at the time of arrival in the State, for the purposes of seeking permission to enter and remain in the State;

2. obtaining a permission to enter the State by deception, through the production of bogus travel documents and/or the provision of false information;

3. having entered the State lawfully and being allowed to remain in this jurisdiction until a specified date, has remained in the State beyond that date;

4. having made application for refugee status and consequently been granted permission to enter the State, failed to comply with an Order to remove him/herself from State following rejection of such application.

An Garda Síochána has responsibility for conducting immigration controls at the frontiers of the State. However, fixed immigration controls conducted by Immigration Officers attached to An Garda Siochana at ports of entry, relate only to persons entering the State. As immigration controls are not undertaken at locations where people exit from the State, it is not possible to establish how many non-Irish nationals have remained in the State following expiration of a permission granted to enter and remain in Ireland for a specified period of time.

Persons illegally present in the State also include those in respect of whom Deportation Orders have issued, having had an application for refugee status refused and who have either not co-operated with removal or evaded deportation. While there is a high level of evasion by those subject to Deportation Orders, the actual execution of Orders is at a level comparable to other EU Member States. However, in regard to those evading, there are clear indications that a significant proportion have in fact left the State.