Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 October 2024
387. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Justice the average length of time that a person who has received a deportation order remains in the State; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40305/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra388. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Justice further to Parliamentary Question No.35 of 26 September 2024, the location of those immigrants who have received a deportation order that have not been actioned to date. [40306/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 387 and 388 together.
I can advise the Deputy that 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 if they come into contact with An Garda Síochána. Such an order remains on the person’s record permanently and prohibits them from legally entering Ireland again in future.
It is not possible to determine average length of time that a person who has received a deportation order remains in the State. In addition to the enforced deportations and those that are otherwise confirmed to have left, a significant number of people leave 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. To introduce exit checks would require the installation of border infrastructure on the land border with Northern Ireland, as well as exit checks in ports and airports.
Notwithstanding this, the Department and the Garda National Immigration Bureau’s (GNIB) assessment is that there is a significant level of voluntary compliance; this assessment is informed by a range of inquiries and other operational information resources available to them.
I can advise the Deputy that, all individuals who are subject to a deportation order are obliged to comply with any requirements that may be placed on them by the GNIB under Section 3 of the Immigration 1999, as amended. These requirements include that the person resides or remains in a particular district or place in the State and that they report to a specified Garda Síochána station or immigration officer at specified intervals pending removal from the State. Section 5 of the Immigration Act 1999 provides also for the arrest and detention of individuals in circumstances such as where they have failed to comply with certain requirements under the Act.
It would not be possible to provide statistics in the way the Deputy has sought them as the retrieval of such information such as it exists would require the manual examination and investigation of a large number of cases. Such an examination would require a disproportionate and inordinate amount of both my staff and GNIB’s resources and could not be justified in current circumstances where there are other significant demands on resources.
The numbers of deportation orders issued and the enforcement of deportations and returns has increased considerably in 2024.The number of deportation orders signed up to 3 October 2024 (1636) has increased by 129% for the same period in 2023.A total of 707 people have departed from the State under various mechanisms up to 3 October 2024 (i.e. forced return, voluntary return etc.).The overall number of returns has increased by 220% for the same period in 2023.The number of enforced deportations has increased by 158% for the same period in 2023.My Department is working closely with the Office of Government Procurement in respect of the tendering process for the supply of charter flight services for deportations. Additionally, my Department and An Garda Síochána continue to engage intensively on the transfer of certain immigration functions to my Department. Civilianising registration functions releases valuable Garda hours to focus on operational and enforcement matters, such as deportations and investigations. This process will free up to 100 Gardaí to focus on other immigration enforcement work, which will include deportations.
