Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 September 2020
601. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice the number of foreign nationals that were refused leave to land in airports here between March and August 2020, by gender, nationality and the country to which they were deported to in tabular form [23863/20]
Amharc ar fhreagra602. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice the number of foreign nationals that spent time in a prison here after being refused leave to land at an airport between March and August 2020 by the location in which they were jailed, nationality and gender in tabular form. [23864/20]
Amharc ar fhreagra603. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice his views on the delays in opening the immigration facility at Dublin Airport and the continued use of jails here to accommodate immigrants; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23865/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 601 to 603, inclusive, together.
Under Section 4 of the Immigration Act 2004, an Immigration Officer must determine whether a non-EEA national should be granted leave to land and thus gain entry to the State. Over 99% of travellers are permitted leave to land under various legal mechanisms including the EU Free Movement Directive, their relationships to Irish citizens, work permit schemes, study visas, or a lawful permission to be in the State already, to name a few examples. In a small minority of cases, a person may be refused leave to land for lawful reasons. In most of these cases the person is placed on a flight and returned to the location from which they departed on the same day. As such, it is often unnecessary to detain someone to facilitate their removal from the State when they are refused leave to land.
The numbers of persons refused leave to land by the Border Management Unit (BMU) of my Department at Dublin Airport between 27 March 2020 and 8 September 2020 were as follows:
|
Month |
Total |
|
27/03/2020 – 31/03/2020 |
2 |
|
April |
30 |
|
May |
26 |
|
June |
34 |
|
July |
188 |
|
August |
246 |
|
01/09/2020 – 08/09/2020 |
60 |
|
Total |
586 |
The BMU has responsibility for frontline immigration services at Dublin Airport only and other ports of entry are the responsibility of the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB).
Including the other ports of entry, a total of 719 persons were refused leave to land in the State between 27 March 2020 and 10 September 2020. This includes the Dublin Airport figures, which are set out in the table above.
It is not possible to provide a response in respect of the number of people that were subsequently detained and transferred to a prison or Garda station; the length of time they were detained; the breakdown of gender or where they were returned to. I am advised that the information is not readily available and would involve an extensive manual exercise to determine.
However, following a high profile case over the summer, my Department has conducted a full review of what occurred at that time and has improved or amended any procedural or administrative arrangements, including in relation to arrangements with An Garda Síochána, to avoid unnecessary immigration detention in such cases and to ensure that the Immigration Service can continually improve how it conducts its business, including data collection.
The management and opening of Garda Stations is an operational matter for the Garda Commissioner. However, given the importance of this facility in ensuring that we can fully implement our revised policies and procedures, I will be taking it up as a matter of urgency with the Commissioner.
