Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 July 2026
534. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of persons who availed of assisted voluntary return programmes in each year from 2020 to date in 2026; and the total amount paid by the State under such programmes. [52974/26]
View answerIt is a central priority for me that Ireland’s immigration system is robust and rules based and that if a person is not granted international protection or permission to remain, that they leave the State.
The enforcement aspects of our laws, including deportation orders, are an essential requirement for the system to work effectively and to ensure that there is confidence in the application of our legislation in this area.
Deportations are costly and complex to enforce. It is the preferred option to return people voluntarily and my Department has a voluntary return programme to assist people to return prior to the issuance of a deportation order.
A person can only avail of voluntary return before a deportation order is issued and I have increased resources into this programme to enable individuals who wish to return before a deportation order is issued to them.
Please below see data below with respect to voluntary returns.
Up until 2023, the Voluntary Return Programme was administered solely by the UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM) on behalf of my Department. In 2024, my Department developed its own Voluntary Return Programme, whilst still using the support of the IOM for assisting more vulnerable people.
The table below details the number of Individuals and Family Groups who received financial reintegration assistance, and the expenditure related to the delivery of reintegration grants under IOM programmes implemented between 01 January 2020 to 31 August 2025. The below figures include the payment of reintegration grants and associated costs of this. Depending on the Country of Return, IOM may charge a Service Fee for the administration and delivery of these services.
Please see at the link below the total cost of Department Voluntary Return Schemes 2024-2026. These figures include both reintegration assistance and administrative costs.
Financial reintegration assistance, which can only be availed of once, is provided when the person has departed the State.
Not all participants in the Voluntary Return programme immediately pursue their reintegration assistance upon leaving the State and some may not pursue it at all; there can also be a time lag between an individual receiving reintegration assistance and the reporting of that expenditure. For that reason, the figures set out in the tables above are subject to change.
