Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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64. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the total number of persons refused leave to land at approved ports of entry to the State in 2015 and to date in 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32520/16]

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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65. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons refused leave to land at approved ports of entry to the State from Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Libya, Iran and Eritrea from 2015 and to date in 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32521/16]

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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66. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons denied entry at Dublin, Rosslare and Dún Laoghaire ports and Cork, Shannon and Dublin airports from 2015 onwards; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32522/16]

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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67. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons refused leave to land here who were subsequently allowed to enter as asylum seekers in 2015 and to date in 2016; if she will provide a breakdown by nationality; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32523/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 64 to 67, inclusive, together.

I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that a total of 3,680 non-nationals were refused permission to enter the State at approved ports of entry pursuant to Section 4(3) of the Immigration Act 2004 (as amended) in the period 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015. This figure includes 290 persons who were subsequently permitted to enter the State having made an application for refugee status pursuant to the Refugee Act 1996 (as amended). The corresponding figures for the period 1 January 2016 to 30 September 2016 are 3,036 and 267 respectively.

In the period 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015, a total of 170 non-nationals from Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Libya, Iran and Eritrea were refused permission to enter the State at approved ports of entry pursuant to Section 4(3) of the Immigration Act 2004 (as amended). The corresponding figure for the period 1 January 2016 to 30 September 2016, was 115 persons. These persons did not travel directly to the State from their country of origin and, where it arose, would be returned to their point of embarkation for the State - predominantly other EU member States.

In the period, 1 January 2015 to 30 September 2016, a total of 5,946 non-nationals were refused permission to enter the State at Dublin, Rosslare and Dun Laoghaire ports and Cork, Shannon and Dublin Airports pursuant to Section 4(3) of the Immigration Act 2004 (as amended).

There are in total eleven grounds on which an immigration officer may refuse to give a permission to enter the State and these are set out at Section 4 (3) of the Immigration Act 2004. While a person may be refused permission to enter the State based on a number of grounds, such refusal need only be based on any one of those grounds. Immigration officers are required to provide a refused person with a written notice setting out the reasons for such a decision.

In all cases, removals from the State, are conducted in accordance with the law. Removals are essentially operational matters for the Garda National Immigration Bureau who work closely with officials of my Department in arranging where necessary travel documents and other papers required.

It should be noted that information on numbers refused permission to enter the State may be subject to revision over time where individual cases are examined further and the status of some cases may change.

In relation to those persons who were subsequently admitted to the Refugee status process, I do not propose to disaggregate these figures further as I have a legal obligation to protect the identify of all asylum seekers in accordance with the Refugee Act.