In an endeavour to manage those who no longer possess the legal rights to stay in the country, the Government has decided to employ charter flights for their deportation. The initiation of a procurement operation for these deportation flights will offer additional choices to the gardaí when carrying out deportations, explains Helen McEntee, the Justice Minister, on Monday.
She emphasised the need to optimise the potential of deportation and repatriation procedures, stating these were fundamental parts of any immigration system. Given the rapid escalation in the outcomes reached on international protection cases, she advocated the need to bolster our ability to exclude those individuals from the country whose applications had been denied and are not authorized to stay in the country. In this regard, a charter service could enlarge the range of available options.
McEntee’s announcement comes in the face of intensifying demand on the Government to address immigration matters, coupled with ongoing issues surrounding provision of adequate accommodation. She indicated that these charter flights could serve as a dependable recourse in scenarios where usage of commercial airlines would not be appropriate.
In the current year, the State has signed 860 deportation orders and about 300 people have voluntarily or otherwise departed the country. Although subject to tendering rules, McEntee anticipates the implementation of charter deportations to commence by year-end.
According to the Department of Justice, enforced deportations have risen by 163 percent, with 50 enforced deportations so far this year compared to 19 in the same timeframe in 2023. An alternative voluntary return program is run, giving support to those keen to reintegrate in their homelands, a method deemed quicker, simpler and less expensive than enforced deportations. This program has seen numbers more than double from 97 to 227 since 2023.