Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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1129. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of notifications of intention to deport issued under section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended) for each year from 2001 to date, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1690/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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It has not been possible to collate the information requested in the time allowed. I will write to the Deputy directly when the information is to hand.

Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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1130. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons, who having been issued with a notification of intention to deport, under section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 subsequently indicated their consent to a deportation order for each year from 2001 to date, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1691/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Deportation and removal processes are an essential part of any immigration system. Those who do not have a legal right to remain in this country must remove themselves from the State.

I can advise the Deputy when a notification of the intention to deport is issued under Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999, a person has three options. The first option is to leave the jurisdiction before a deportation order is made, the second is to consent to a deportation order being made, and the third is to make representations to the Minister as to why they should not be deported.

It is the case that many hundreds of individuals who were subject to deportation orders have left the State without notifying the relevant authorities. The GNIB has reviewed a large sample of the cases from last year who were subject to deportation orders. Their inquiries suggest a very significant number of these individuals have left the State.

The specific information requested was not collated in the manner requested prior to 2013.

The table below outlines the number of people that consented to a Deportation Order from 2013-2023*:

Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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1131. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of instances from 2016 to date in which a deportation order has been issued despite a person indicating their consent to voluntary return in accordance with the exceptions relevant to section 48 of the International Protection Act 2015 (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1692/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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My Department has a focus on ensuring that persons involved in serious criminality are removed from the State. There is ongoing communication between the Department, the Irish Prison Service, the Probation Service and the Garda National Immigration Bureau and IPAS to achieve this objective.

During the pandemic and despite the moratorium on removing persons without permission to be in the State, persons whose presence in Ireland was contrary to the public interest, including on security grounds, were deported.

47 such individuals were removed in 2021.

Since the lifting of the covid-19 controls in 2022, 52 individuals were removed in 2022 while a further 44 were removed in 2023.

The Deputy should note that there have been no cases in which a deportation order has been issued despite a person indicating their consent to voluntary return in accordance with the exceptions relevant to section 48 of the International Protection Act 2015. However there has been one case where it was decided not to exercise discretion to inform by notice a person to whom section 48 (3) applies.