Peadar Tóibín
Ceist:226. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of persons who have received deportation orders for each of the past five years. [10617/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 11 February 2026
Ceisteanna (226, 227, 228)
Peadar Tóibín
Ceist:227. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of persons who have had their deportation order enforced by the State for each of the past five years. [10618/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraPeadar Tóibín
Ceist:228. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of persons who have received a deportation order who have left voluntarily; and the proof which exists of this. [10619/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I propose to take Questions Nos. 226, 227 and 228 together.
It is a central priority for me that Ireland’s immigration system is robust and rules based. 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.
People leaving under the voluntary return programme are required to provide my officials with documentary evidence that they have left within three days of their arrival in their home country. This can include evidence of flight tickets, boarding passes, the bio-data page of their passports and the re-entry stamp in their passport with the passport number clearly shown.
People availing of the voluntary return programme are also be met by officials from the Border Management Unit of my Department, or by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), to ensure that their return journey is facilitated through Dublin Airport and that their departure is confirmed.
Further information and evidence will be requested if the supporting documentation submitted is not sufficient to confirm that the person has left the State. People who do not submit the required documentation within the timeframes are advised that their cases will be reverted for further processing which may result in a deportation order issuing if it is not confirmed that they have left the State.
If a person does not remove themselves from the State following the issuance of a deportation order, they will be removed, and my Department has taken action to significantly improve immigration enforcement measures and increase removals.
The number of deportation orders signed in 2024 (2,403) increased by 180% compared to 2023 (857). In 2025, 4,700 deportation orders were signed, an increase of 96% compared to 2024.
In 2024, 1,122 people departed from the State under various mechanisms (i.e. enforced deportation, voluntary return etc.). In 2025, 2,111 people had their departure confirmed through these pathways, an increase of 88% compared to 2024.
In 2025, six charter flight operations removed 205 people from the State. Of these, five operations to non-EU destinations removed 182 people who were subject to deportation orders and one operation removed 23 EU citizens on grounds of criminality.
As Ireland does not operate routine exit checks at Irish borders, it is not possible to confirm in all instances that a person has departed the State. A person is only recorded as being deported when their deportation has been enforced by An Garda Síochána or when officials have been provided with evidence that they have left Ireland.
While over 300 of the people subject to deportation orders above have confirmed they have left the State independently since 2020, it is the case that a significantly larger number of individuals who were subject to Deportation Orders have left the State without notifying the relevant authorities.
I am informed that the Garda National Immigration Bureau has reviewed a large sample of cases of people subject to deportation orders; their inquiries suggest a very significant number of these individuals have left the State.
The tables below detail the number of deportation orders signed and effected from 2021 to 2025.
Question No. 227 answered with Question No. 226.
Question No. 228 answered with Question No. 226.