Vol. 549 No. 2
6 Mr. Higgins (Mayo) asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if two Algerians were deported from this jurisdiction to Algeria on 9 January 2002 in a private plane accompanied by four members of the Garda Síochána; if so, the cost to the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4141/02]
Two Algerian males were deported to Algeria on Wednesday, 9 January 2002. A private aircraft was chartered to facilitate these deportations. There were five escorting members of the Garda Síochána. It was originally intended that three Algerians would be deported on that day. However, one obtained a temporary court injunction preventing his deportation. The injunction was subsequently lifted by the High Court when there was no challenge to the deportation order and the arrest and detention of the person concerned were found to be lawful. The cost to the State of chartering the aircraft was €23,495 or £18,500. This does not include the cost of Garda overtime or subsistence, although such costs were minimised as the flight departed Dublin Airport at 2 p.m. and returned at 10 p.m. that night.
All possibilities of using scheduled flights on commercial airlines were exhausted. Bomb threats were made by one of the deportees on a scheduled flight about to take off. This was a cause of distress to the passengers on board and considerable inconvenience to the airline. The gardaí subsequently attempted to enforce deportation on other flights but all the airlines had become aware of the behaviour of the persons concerned and were unwilling to facilitate the deportation. I received a report from the Garda National Immigration Bureau highlighting the difficulties in enforcing these deportations and the potential consequences of failing to enforce these orders. Two of the three deportees concerned had convictions in the State for a variety of crimes including theft and fraud during the relatively short period they had been in the State.
If it becomes impossible to enforce deportation orders as a result of disruptive behaviour of deportees, it will send a clear signal that deportation can be avoided by simply being disruptive. Secondly, disruptive behaviour by deportees on scheduled flights will become the norm, leading to concerns for the safety of passengers and staff on aircraft. This will cause further difficulties for the Garda in the already problematic task of enforcing deportation orders. The system of hiring chartered aircraft is used in other European countries returning deported persons in similar circumstances.
It is well established that an effective deportation process is a necessary element of any immigration system, particularly an effective asylum process. Significant strides have been made with 365 orders enforced in 2001, representing almost a doubling of the figure for the previous year. Approximately 620 persons have been deported since November 1999 with over 560 of the deportations taking place since June 2000. However, there are more than 2,000 persons evading deportation orders at present. The lack of an effective means to deport persons not granted permission to remain in the State calls into question the integrity of the entire immigration system. I am determined that this situation will not arise.
Additional InformationI am aware from discussions with my colleagues at the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council that Ireland's enforcement rate of approximately 19% of orders made is high by international standards and is certainly above the EU average.
(Mayo): The Minister's reply is farcical. Why were these non-nationals granted special treatment? The Minister is, in effect, saying that if one wants to be deported on a private jet, all one must do is get somebody to make a bomb threat. Five gardaí were used to deport two non-nationals. Do gardaí normally accompany people out of the jurisdiction?
Yes.
(Mayo): Were these people suspected terrorists? Who made the decision to hire the private plane?
As I said, all possibilities of using scheduled flights on commercial airlines had been exhausted. Bomb threats were made by one of the deportees on a scheduled flight which was about to take off. This was a cause of distress to the passengers on board and considerable inconvenience to the airline. The gardaí sub sequently attempted to enforce deportation on other flights but all airlines had become aware of the behaviour of the persons concerned and were unwilling to facilitate the deportation. If it is not possible to enforce deportation orders as a result of the disruptive behaviour of deportees, the entire process will fall down. It is necessary to ensure that the law of the land is upheld. In that context it was necessary, because no other airline would take them, to hire a private aircraft. I feel that this was perfectly reasonable.
Gardaí travel with people who are being deported. The deportation rate in Ireland, in comparison to the number of deportation orders made, is in the region of 19% and that is the highest in the EU. However, if passengers on planes are frightened by people making threats about planting bombs and if airlines will not take passengers as a result of those threats, I am left with no option but to try to find an alternative means of ensuring that the law of the land is upheld. I have no regrets or apologies to make about that.
(Mayo): If a bomb threat was made – the Minister said it was—
Is the Deputy suggesting that it was not?
(Mayo): No.
Is it a criminal offence?
(Mayo): If the threat was made, an elaborate security check was presumably carried out to ensure that there was no bomb on board. If the all-clear was given, what was the problem? Why were the two non-nationals accompanied out of the jurisdiction by the gardaí? Why was there a need for a private jet? Does the Minister accept that this was a gross extravagance and a scandalous waste of taxpayers' money? Was the Minister personally consulted about this case and did he approve the hiring of a private jet at a cost of €23,495 to the taxpayer?
I suppose one of the people flown out was not the Tánaiste?
Deputy Higgins may have a more original idea. The situation is that the airlines would not—
(Mayo): They should have travelled—
Allow the Minister reply without interruption.
Has the Deputy listened to my reply? I made it perfectly clear that the difficulty was that all possibilities of using scheduled flights on commercial airlines were exhausted.
