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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 7 May 2003

Vol. 566 No. 1

Written Answers. - Garda Operations.

Paul McGrath

Question:

629 Mr. P. McGrath asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the time of departure, the flight duration time, the local arrival time and date for a number of flights (details supplied); the arrangements made for the return flights for the Garda escorts on those flights; the lay-over time at those locations; the dates of the return flights; the local landing time here of those return flights; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11660/03]

I set out in the following table details of the three charter flights as requested.

Destination

Algiers

Lagos

Lagos

Date of Departure

9 January 2002

28 March 2002

14 November 2002

Time of Departure Ex. Dublin

14.25 Hrs GMT

09.05 Hrs GMT

09.00 Hrs GMT

Approximate Flight Time

3 Hours

7 Hours

7 Hours

Date of Arrival

9 January 2002

28 March 2002

14 November 2002

Time of Arrival

17.25 Hrs GMT

16.19 Hrs GMT

15.51 Hrs GMT

Return Departure Date

9 January 2002

28 March 2002

14 November 2002

Return Departure Time

19.00 Hrs GMT

17.44 Hrs GMT

18.05 Hrs GMT

Date of Return

9 January 2002

29 March 2002

15 November 2002

Return Arrival Time (Dublin)

22.00 Hrs GMT

00.20 Hrs GMT

00.43 Hrs GMT

Note 1: The flights departed from and returned directly to Dublin from the destinations mentioned once the deportees disembarked and were handed over to local immigration authorities.
Note 2: All flight times are in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) as this is the official convention for such flights.
The first aircraft was chartered to facilitate the deportation of two Algerian persons to Algeria on 9 January 2002. The second aircraft was chartered to facilitate the deportation of six Nigerians to Nigeria on 28 March 2002. The third aircraft was chartered with the intention of deporting up to 20 Nigerians. However, due to last minute court proceedings and difficulties in obtaining travel documents it was not possible to deport this number and, in the end, 12 persons were deported to Nigeria on 14 November 2002.
The Garda National Immigration Bureau is responsible for effecting removals from the State including the escorting of deportees while on flights. Generally, it is the policy of the Garda National Immigration Bureau to remove deportees using ordinary commercial flights. In the three instances mentioned it was not possible to remove some of the persons concerned on scheduled flights because of disruptive behaviour during earlier attempts to remove them. Accordingly the Garda National Immigration Bureau requested my Department to organise charter flights to remove the persons concerned. In the case of the two Nigerian charters, the Garda National Immigration Bureau used the opportunity to remove other Nigerians who were in detention at the time awaiting deportation but who were not deemed to be potentially disruptive.
If the aircraft in these cases had not been chartered and the deportation orders had not been enforced because of the disruptive behaviour of the deportees there would have been the danger that a signal would have been sent that deportation can be avoided simply by being disruptive. This would have led to concerns for the safety of passengers and staff on scheduled aircraft and would have caused further difficulties for the gardaí in the already difficult task of enforcing deportation orders. Aircraft charter is an internationally recognised means for ensuring the safe and effective removal of illegal immigrants and is used extensively by other European countries. Competitive quotes were sought for the three charters and the most suitable tenders were chosen in each case having regard to price and operational requirements.
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