I propose to take Questions Nos. 591 and 592 together.
The removal of people who are involved in criminality and those who are a danger to society is a priority for me as Minister and my Department works closely with An Garda Síochána and the Irish Prison Service to ensure high risk persons are prioritised for removal from Ireland.
Under the European Communities (Free Movement of Persons) Regulations 2015, which transposes the Free Movement Directive (Directive 2004/38/EC) into Irish law, orders can be made for both the removal and exclusion of citizens of the European Union, European Economic Area and Switzerland who represent a danger to public policy or public security. These orders can be made on the grounds of that the individual’s personal conduct represents a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat affecting one of the fundamental interests of society.
These orders, and their legal basis, are distinct from deportation orders which are legal orders to leave the State and remain outside of it, apply in respect of non-EEA nationals only.
Under Section 3 of the Immigration 1999, as amended, a Deportation Order may be issued on a number of grounds, including:
• under Section 3(2)(a,) a person who has served or is serving a term of imprisonment imposed on him or her by a court in the State,
• under Section 3(2)(b), a person whose deportation has been recommended by a court in the State before which such person was indicted for or charged with any crime or offence,
• under Section 3(2)(i), a person whose deportation would, in the opinion of the Minister, be conducive to the common good.
The process of arranging enforced deportations and removals is often complex and can take time to complete. They often involve legal challenges, complications with obtaining travel documents, and arranging flights and relevant permissions for accompanying escorts. Others may have completed a custodial sentence and are in the international protection process or may apply for an injunction to prevent or delay their removal.
I can advise that the total number of people removed from the State due to criminality from 2021, up to 10 July 2026, is detailed in the following table.
*Please note, figures are correct at time of issue, however, all statistics may be subject to data cleansing.
A further breakdown of this data by nationality is provided at the link below. It is the policy of my Department not to release numbers where there are less than 5 in respect of any nationality, as there is a possibility that a person may be identifiable by releasing such information. As a result, data for deportations due to criminality by nationality is provided for 2025 and 2026 only.
It is not possible to provide the more detailed information sought by the Deputy as it would involve the manual examination of a large number of files requiring a disproportionate expenditure of staff resources.
People removed from the State due to criminality 2021-2026
Data by nationality
