Charter deportations cost taxpayer €775,000

THE use of charter flights for deportations increased dramatically last year, costing the taxpayer €775,000, according to new figures.

The Garda National Immigration Bureau deported 277 people by charter flight last year, up from 44 in 2003 and 20 in 2002 - in line with the increased number of deportations over that period. But charter flights were only used for about one in five of the 1,725 deportations in the past three years.

The 12 flights chartered over the past three years have cost €1.36 million, Minister for Justice Michael McDowell confirmed. That does not include the cost of pay and overtime for gardaí.

“However, the garda commissioner informs me that charter flights involve a lower ratio of garda escorts to deportees than is the case using conventional schedule flights, resulting in savings to the garda budget,” the minister said.

Responding to parliamentary questions from Labour’s Joe Sherlock and Sinn Féin’s Aengus Ó Snodaigh, Mr McDowell detailed how half of the deportation charter flights went to Romania and Moldova and another four went to Nigeria, while Algeria and the Gambia accounted for one flight each.

The minister said there are two main categories for the use of charter flights in deportations: “Smaller charters that are organised to remove disruptive deportees that commercial airlines will not take on account of previous disruptive behaviour on board aircraft and bigger charters organised to return larger numbers of deportees in a more efficient way than using schedule flights.

“It should be stated Ireland does not have direct flights to the destinations where these charters have taken place. The alternative to chartering is transiting through hub European airports involving longer transfer times, more inconvenience to deportees and the attendant risk of deportees absconding in transit,” he said.

As the practice is often the source of controversy, the minister also defended the use of charter flights for deportations.

“The use of charter flights, including joint charters shared by two or more countries, are accepted and used widely across the European Union as an effective and efficient means of returning persons illegally present on the territories of member states following individual consideration of their cases.

“The European Council of ministers adopted a decision in April 2004 facilitating the greater use of joint repatriation flights as a means of demonstrating solidarity among member states, increasing the rate of returns and making more effective use of resources,” the minister said.

Ireland has carried out two such joint operations with The Netherlands in November, 2003, to Romania and Bulgaria, and with Britain to Romania and Moldova in November, 2003.