Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 429 and 437 together.

As the Deputy will be aware, management of the courts, operational matters and logistical functions are the responsibility of the judiciary and Courts Service, which are independent in exercising their functions under the Courts Service Act 1998 and given the separation of powers in the Constitution.

The Courts Service has a dedicated email address for the provision of information to members of the Houses of the Oireachtas: oireachtasenquiries@courts.ie

To be of assistance to the Deputy, I have referred his question to the Court Service for direct reply.

Similarly, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is fully independent in her functions under the Prosecution of Offences Act 1974 (as amended). The Office of the DPP is not an agency or body under my remit as Minister for Justice and, as I have no role in the operations, functions, oversight or governance of the Office of the Director, I am unable to provide any statistics related to the work of the DPP.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Regulation (EU) No 604/2013 (Dublin III Regulations), came into force on 19 July 2013, and lays down the criteria and mechanisms for determining which EU country is responsible for examining an asylum application. The Dublin Regulation is based on the principle that the first Member State to facilitate entry to the EU should be responsible for examining the protection application.

In practice, and in keeping with the experience of all Member States, the Dublin III Regulations have not been effective in Ireland.

The Eurodac database enables the comparison of fingerprints and assists in determining the country responsible for the assessment of an asylum claim presented in one of the Member States. The Eurodac annual report is drawn up pursuant to Article 40(1) of the Eurodac Regulation and provides an overview of statistical data on the use of the system by the Member States. The statistical data for the time period requested has not yet published by EU-Lisa, and is not otherwise available in a verifiable format from national records.

I can, however, advise the Deputy that between April 2023 and April 2024, 246 transfer decisions were taken by the IPO under the Dublin Regulation.

Number of Transfer Decisions	Month/Year Taken
21	April 2023
13	May 2023
18	June 2023
17	July 2023
24	August 2023
12	September 2023
14	October 2023
21	November 2023
16	December 2023
22	January 2024
18	February 2024
21	March 2024
29	April 2024
246	TOTAL

As the Deputy will be aware, it is possible for applicants to appeal transfer decisions, and the vast majority do so. As a consequence many of the above transfer decisions are currently under consideration by IPAT. It is also important to note that after the IPO and IPAT have completed their work, Ireland makes ‘transfer requests’ under the regulation to the Member State in question, which can result in the request being declined. There are other reasons why transfers will not go ahead including legal challenge, material change in the person's personal circumstances, or the person leaving the country without advising the IPO.

These factors all form part of the widely recognised limitations of the current Dublin arrangements and are reflected in the number of effected transfer between April 2023 and April 2024.

Number of Dublin III Transfer *	Year
3	2023*
2	2024*

* Between April 2023 and April 2024.

**Figures correct at time of issue and may be subject to data cleansing.

The difficulties associated with the current Dublin arrangements are one of the important considerations for Ireland in opting in the EU Migration Pact

The overall objective of the Pact is to create a fair, sustainable and efficient asylum procedure in ordinary times as well as in times of migratory pressure and crisis situations.

The Asylum and Migration Management Regulation (AMMR) which will replace the Dublin III Regulation, provides, inter alia, for streamlined criteria and reduced timeframes for determining the Member State responsible for determining an asylum application as well as revised rules on transferring responsibility. This will significantly improve the current Dublin system by reducing the administrative burden on the Member States seeking to transfer a person to the Member State responsible for processing the application.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 431 and 432 together.

A deportation order is a legal order to leave the State. Any person who has been ordered to leave the State and fails to do so is committing a criminal offence, and can be arrested without warrant if they come into contact with An Garda Síochána. Such an order remains on the person’s record permanently – it means they cannot enter Ireland again in future, and it will likely also have an impact on their ability to travel to the UK and the EU.

The Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) carries out inquiries to confirm that people have removed themselves from the State, and works closely with my Department to enforce deportations where this is not the case.

In addition to the enforced deportations and those that are otherwise confirmed to have left, we know that a much larger number of people will have left the State without being escorted; however, as there are no routine exit checks at Irish borders, it is not possible to accurately quantify this number.

Enforced deportation operations are complex and costly. They often involve detailed detection work, detentions in custody, legal challenges, complications with obtaining travel documents, and of course, the cost of flights and related matters. Alternatives to forced removals are therefore typically preferential. Most people ordered to leave the State will comply.

Separately, my Department provides assistance through a voluntary return programme to some individuals who will benefit from assistance to reintegrate in their home country; where this type of return is effected, a Deportation Order is not required.

The below table sets out the number of Deportation Orders issued for the first four months of 2024; and the number of Deportation Orders enforced by GNIB.

Year	DOs Issued	Total confirmed Deportations (Other Deportations Confirmed + GNIB Enforced Deports)	Other Deportations Confirmed (1)	DOs enforced by GNIB (2)	Voluntary Returns (3)	Dublin iii Transfers (4)	EU Removals (5)	All Returns
Jan’24	81	7	2	5	22	0	0	29
Feb’24	120	11	3	8	49	1	2	63
Mar’24	63	8	0	8	31	0	2	41
Apr’24(To 30/04/24)	180	12	0	12	34	1	5	52

*Please note, figures are correct at time of issue, however, all statistics may be subject to data cleansing.*Numbers deported may relate to deportation orders issued in a previous year.

1. Information has come to hand or by inquiry to the effect that the individual has left the state following receipt of a DO.
2. Person escorted from the state by the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB).
3. Persons who availed of the voluntary return programme without getting a deportation order.
4. Transfer to another EU State to have their application for International Protection examined.
5. EU Citizen removed from the State under the Free Movement Regulations (generally criminals).

In 2023 the GNIB enforced 52 DOs which is a 100% increase on the 2022 figure of 26 DOs enforced.

In 2023 there were 213 Voluntary Returns (VRs) which is over double the 2022 figure of 91 VRs.

My Department is working closely with the Office of Government Procurement in respect of the tendering process for the supply of charter flight services for Deportation. The intention is for these services to be available later in the year. In the meantime, the removal of people from Ireland (including those being transferred to EU countries and the UK) who do not have a legal right to remain in the country will be carried out by commercial flights.

Additionally, my Department and An Garda Síochána continue to engage intensively on the transfer of certain immigration functions to my Department. In April the registration of immigration residence permissions for counties Meath, Kildare and Wicklow, transferred from An Garda Síochána to my Department, which is already responsible for Dublin. It is intended that my Department will assume responsibility for registrations nationwide, the transfer is expected to be substantially completed within the next 12 months. This will free up to 100 Gardaí to focus on other core policing duties, which will include deportations and other aspects of immigration enforcement.