I propose to take Questions Nos. 740, 738 and 739 together.
A deportation order is a legal order to leave the State. The enforcement of deportation orders, and the detention of people prior to their removal, is an operational matter for Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB).
Individuals who have been issued with a deportation order are required to present to the GNIB in accordance with the conditions of their deportation order. Failure to do so may result in arrest and detention to facilitate their deportation from the State.
The properties mentioned in the details supplied are not a prescribed place of detention under the Immigration Act 1999 (Deportation) Regulations 2005. While some people currently resident in this facility, may be the subject of a deportation order, it is not the case that they are being detained in those locations or those facilities.
People and families who are subject to deportation orders are also accommodated in other centres around the country. The purpose of International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centres remains to provide accommodation to people who have entered Ireland seeking protection.
The number of people resident in IPAS centres, who have been refused permission to remain in the State is a small proportion of our total resident population of over 33,000 people.
Currently, there are over 800 people subject to deportation orders residing in IPAS accommodation. This number fluctuates regularly, as people leave Ireland under the relevant return pathways, and as new orders are made. People with a deportation order are at the end of the process but if they are still in IPAS while that’s being administered, they live there as residents and part of the community.
Some people subject to deportation orders may have the enforcement of their order suspended due to legal proceedings or due to personal circumstances such as health grounds. Others will be in the process of arranging to leave the State as directed.
The Department, and accommodation centre management and staff, work closely and cooperate with the Garda National Immigration Bureau as they progress arrangements for the removal of persons subject to deportation orders.
