Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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221. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide a breakdown of the number of individuals deported to Nigeria on the State-co-ordinated charter flight that took place on 4 June 2025, including the gender of each person; the age of each person; whether each individual was an adult or child; if any were part of a family unit, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30940/25]

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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222. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he will list the locations of detention or accommodation where individuals were held or assembled in advance of the deportation flight to Nigeria on 4 June 2025, including the number of individuals held at each location; the duration of their stay prior to removal; and the legal basis under which they were detained, in tabular form. [30941/25]

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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223. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality whether any family groups, including children, were deported on the flight to Nigeria on or around 4 June 2025; if so, to state the number of family units; the number of adults and children in each group; whether any child welfare assessments were conducted prior to removal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30942/25]

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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224. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality whether an independent human rights observer or monitor was present on board the deportation flight to Nigeria on 4 June 2025, or present during the removal process; and if not, to explain the reason such monitoring was not provided for in this case. [30943/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 221 to 224, inclusive, together.

I am fully committed to ensuring that Ireland’s immigration system is robust and rules based. The enforcement aspects of our laws, including deportation orders, are an essential requirement for the system to work effectively and to ensure that there is confidence in the application of our legislation in this area.

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, within the timeframe issued with the deportation order, 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, unless revoked – it means they may not enter Ireland again in future.

It is the preferred option to return people voluntarily and my Department has a voluntary return programme to assist people to return prior to the issuance of a deportation order. It is important to note that a person can only avail of voluntary return before a deportation order is issued.

My Department has taken action to significantly improve immigration enforcement measures and increase removals. The number of deportation orders signed in 2024 (2,403) increased by 180% compared to 2023 (857). This year 1,940 deportation orders have been signed up to 06 June 2025.

Last year, 1,116 people departed from the State under various mechanisms (i.e. enforced deportation, voluntary return etc.), an increase of 252% compared to 2023 (317). This year 893 persons have had their departure confirmed through these pathways up to 06 June 2025.

So far in 2025, three charter flight operations have removed 106 people who were subject to deportation orders from the State with a further 54 removed on commercial airlines. Further charter operations and removals on commercial aircraft will be conducted as the year progresses.

Of the 35 people removed by charter flight to Nigeria on 04 June 2025, 21 were adult male, 9 were adult female and 5 were children who travelled as part of two family units. I can advise the Deputy that the people removed were between the ages of 8 and 61; a further breakdown cannot be provided as a person may be identifiable by releasing such information.

I can advise the Deputy up to 06 June 2025 of this year there have been 160 enforced deportations (i.e. requiring escort), the majority of these cases have involved periods of detention prior to Departure. Of the 106 people removed by charter flight, 84 were held in custody immediately prior to the flight. Any children removed have been returned as part of family units. The children and their mothers were not detained in advance of their removal.

The enforcement of deportation orders, and the detention of people prior to their removal, is an operational matter for the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB). Prior to any removal members of GNIB conduct a risk assessment for the safety of those travelling. In addition to Garda personnel, medical staff accompanied the returnees on each charter flight. A person who is the subject of a deportation order may be detained under Section 5 of the Immigration Act 1999 for up to 56 days for the purpose of ensuring their deportation from the State. An application to extend this period of detention must be made to the District Court.

The prescribed places of detention are contained in the Immigration Act 1999 (Deportation) Regulations 2005 and are: Castlerea Prison, Cloverhill Prison, Cork Prison, Limerick Prison, Midlands Prison, Mountjoy Prison, and Wheatfield Prison, as well as all Garda Síochána stations. However, not all of these locations are used for this purpose.

Aidan Farrelly (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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225. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide a schedule of the aircraft leasing companies his Department has engaged with andor utilised in the context of deportation flights, and costs incurred to date in respect of deportation flights and all ancillary services associated with same, in tabular form. [30946/25]

Aidan Farrelly (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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227. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide a schedule of the commercial airline companies his Department has engaged with and-or utilised in the context of deportation flights, and costs incurred to date in respect of deportation flights and all ancillary services associated with same, in tabular form. [30948/25]

Aidan Farrelly (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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228. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide a schedule of the charter airline companies his Department has engaged with and-or utilised in the context of deportation flights, and costs incurred to date in respect of deportation flights and all ancillary services associated with same, in tabular form (details supplied). [30949/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 225, 227 and 228 together.

It is a central priority for me that Ireland’s immigration system is robust and rules based. The enforcement aspect of our laws, including deportation orders, are an essential requirement for the system to work effectively and to ensure that there is confidence in the application of our legislation in this area.

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, within the timeframe issued with the deportation order, 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, unless revoked by the Minister for Justice – it means they may not enter Ireland again in future.

It is the preferred option to return people voluntarily and my Department has a voluntary return programme to assist people to return prior to the issuance of a deportation order. It is important to note that a person can only avail of voluntary return before a deportation order is issued.

My Department has taken action to significantly improve immigration enforcement measures and increase removals. The number of deportation orders signed in 2024 (2,403) increased by 180% compared to 2023 (857). This year 1,940 deportation orders have been signed up to 06 June 2025.

Last year, 1,116 people departed from the State under various mechanisms (i.e. enforced deportation, voluntary return etc.), an increase of 252% compared to 2023 (317). This year 893 persons have had their departure confirmed through these pathways up to 06 June 2025.

I can advise the Deputy that my Department does not lease aircraft directly for the purpose of enforcing deportation orders. Charter flight services are provided by Air Partner Ltd under a contract entered into in November 2024. This contract was signed following a competitive and open procurement process. The costs for the provision of the aircraft for these operations has been as follows:

• €102,476 for a one-way flight to Georgia in February.

• €103,751 for a one-way flight to Georgia in May.

• €324,714 for a return flight to Nigeria in June.

Costs for the provision of supporting charter flight services such as ground handling services, on-board paramedics and a flight manager have been €46,352 so far in 2025.

The potential value of this contract is €5m over the lifespan of the contract. The term of the contract is 3 years with a possibility to extend it twice by one year, a potential lifespan of 5 years in total. The total expenditure under the contract with Air Partner will be based on the number of charter flights provided, the frequency of which will be determined by the operational needs of the State.

Commercial flights are also used as part of deportation enforcement operations and are booked through the Department’s commercial flight provider. Therefore my Department does not maintain a schedule of airlines used for this purpose.

The below table sets out the number of removals enforced in 2024 and year to date in 2025; and the associated costs for those years. The figure for commercial flights (often through hubs and long-distance) includes the flight costs for removal operations completed using commercial airlines and also the costs of returning accompanying escorts to Ireland when a one-way charter flight is used to enforce deportation orders.

Table 1. Deportation and Removals Costs

**including the return of escorts for one way charter operations.

A number of factors impact the costs associated with deportation operations. In particular, the costs for any particular deportation reflect the numbers travelling in each instance; in some cases a person may resist deportation and the Garda National Immigration Bureau risk assessment may give rise to the need for additional escorts. Flight costs also can often be impacted by the need to make arrangements to enable escorts to return on the same flight; where, for example, it is necessary for the personal safety of the escorts.