Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 767: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of people who applied for a programme (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31561/09]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 768: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of people who were returned to their country of origin under a programme (details supplied) for the period 1 January to 31 December 2008 and from 1 January to date in 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31562/09]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 769: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the cost involved in a programme (details supplied) for the period 1 January to 31 December 2008 and from 1 January to date in 2009, isolating the costs for the individuals returned and associated costs of them being accompanied and so on; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31563/09]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 770: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the countries of origin from which applicants for a programme (details supplied) were returned during the period 1 January to 31 December 2008 and from 1 January to date in 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31564/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to answer Questions Nos. 767 to 770, inclusive, together.

One of the options open to persons faced with the prospect of having a Deportation Order issued in respect of them is that they can seek to return voluntarily to their country of origin. Asylum seekers and irregular migrants from non-EU countries who agree to return voluntarily to their countries of origin but do not have the financial means or in some instances the necessary documentation to do so, can obtain assistance through the Voluntary Assisted Return and Re-integration Programme (VARRP). This Programme is funded by my Department and managed by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

In 2008, a total of 566 applications were received under the VARRP, representing 809 individuals. Between 1st January and 31st August, 2009 a total of 391 applications were received, representing 624 individuals. In 2008, 436 people were assisted through the VARRP to return to their home countries, while in the period January - August 2009 a total of 295 have returned under the Programme.

The full cost of the VARRP in 2008 was €1,239,065 of which €483,063 was expended on operational costs with the balance being attributed, in the main, to staff and office costs. It is anticipated that a similar breakdown between operational costs and staff and office costs will be the outcome of the 2009 programme when the full year figures become available. People returning under the VARRP are provided with assistance by IOM staff during their departure through the airport, and in their country of return by locally based staff, if required. However, IOM staff do not accompany those returning except in very exceptional circumstances, e.g. unaccompanied minors or medical cases. Cases of this nature would generally arise on no more than two or three occasions in any one year.

The countries to which people voluntarily returned under the VARRP in 2008 were:- Albania, Algeria, Botswana, Brazil, China, Croatia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Georgia, Ghana, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Kenya, Kosovo, Libya, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritius, Moldova, Mongolia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Syria, Uganda, Ukraine.

To date in 2009 the countries of return under the Programme include:- Brazil, Moldova, Georgia, Nigeria, Ukraine, Russia, Iran, Iraq, South Africa, China, Congo, Croatia, Benin, Malaysia, Columbia, Mongolia, Argentina, Armenia, Afghanistan, Australia, Bolivia, Guinea, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Mauritius, New Zealand, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, United Emirates, Pakistan, Philippines.