Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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776. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of return decisions her Department has issued in the past five years, broken down by the nationality of the recipient and month; the number of those return decisions recipients that were also issued an entry ban; the number of those recipients that have had their period of voluntary departure shortened; the number of those recipients that have had their return decision postponed under the principle of non-refoulement; the number of total migrants that have been deemed unreturnable in the same period, broken down by the country they were returned to, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44955/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I can advise the Deputy that Ireland does not participate in Council Directive 2008/115/EC Directive on common standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying third-country nationals - “the Returns Directive”; accordingly, some of the information sought by the Deputy is in respect of measures and provisions which do not apply in Ireland.

In Irish law 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 by An Garda Síochána. Such an order remains in place unless revoked by the Minister for Justice. While a deportation order remains in place the person is prohibited from entering Ireland.

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.

The number of deportation orders signed up to 1 November 2024 (1931) has increased by 159% for the same period in 2023. The number of enforced deportations has increased by 158% for the same period in 2023 and overall number of returns has increased by 222% for the same period in 2023.

In the current year, 830 people have departed from the State under various mechanisms up to 1 November 2024. This includes individuals removed under the Free Movement Regulations (17) and those transferred under the Dublin III mechanism (7).

Enforced deportation operations are complex and costly. They can involve investigations, detentions in custody, legal challenges, and the costs of flights. Alternatives to forced removals are therefore typically preferential and my Department provides assistance through a voluntary return programme to some who will benefit from some assistance to reintegrate in their home country. The number of voluntary returns facilitated by my Department has increased by 270% for the same period in 2023. Voluntary returns are a fast and efficient way to remove individuals from the jurisdiction and to confirm that removal has taken place.

My Department is working closely with the Office of Government Procurement in respect of identifying a commercial partner for the supply of charter flight services for deportation. The procurement process for these services is well advanced. Charter flights provide an alternative to commercial flights and can be more appropriate in circumstances when a group of individuals are being removed to the same destination. The intention is for these services to be available in the near future and to operate alongside the current use of commercial flights for removals. Meanwhile, enforced deportations are continuing on commercial flights and deportations conducted on commercial flights are at a 10 year high.

Table one, below sets out the total number of deportations and voluntary returns for the period 2019 to 1 November 2024.

The term ‘Deportation Enforced by GNIB refers to individuals removed from the State on foot of deportation orders in the custody of the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB).

The term ‘Deportation Otherwise Confirmed’ relates to individuals who are verified as having left the State following the issuing of a Deportation Order.

The term ‘Voluntary Return’ refers to individuals who depart the State an alternative to receiving a Deportation Order. All departures under the Voluntary Return Programme are verified and confirmed. Persons who depart the State under Voluntary Return are separate to those who have their “Deportation Otherwise Confirmed” detailed in Table One.

Table one:

* Figure includes non commercial flights

Please note, figures are correct at time of issue, however, all statistics may be subject to data cleansing. During the COVID- 19 Pandemic there was a moratorium on deportations. This was effective during the latter part of 2020, 2021 and for the first 8 months of 2022. During the moratorium only persons whose presence in Ireland would be contrary to the public interest were deported. This moratorium was lifted in July 2022.

Table two, below sets out the top five nationalities which had Deportation Orders signed against them from 2019 to 3 November 2024.

Table three below, sets out the top five nationalities of persons who have departed the State using the Voluntary Return Programme from 2019 to 3 November 2024.