€3m deportation flights plan revealed

UP TO €3 million will be spent on hiring aircraft to deport illegal immigrants from Ireland over the next two years.

The planes, carrying up to 100 passengers, are expected to bring deportees back to mainly west-African countries and Eastern Europe. The department also plans stopover joint operations with other countries to deport people.

However, immigrant supporters yesterday shot down the Department of Justice funding for the flights, insisting that taxpayers’ money could be better spent elsewhere.

“The last deportation plane took 10 people back to Nigeria, which was absolutely ridiculous. It’s a crazy situation, the money wasted,” argued Rosanna Flynn of Residents Against Racism.

The funds to charter deportation planes would be better spent on immigrants living in hostels or wanting to learn trades, she said, adding: “Let them work instead of spending money on planes.”

Each deportation flight also carries a large number of gardaí, as well as a nurse and doctor.

The number of asylum seekers entering Ireland reached a peak of 12,000 in 2002, but this dropped to below 4,300 by the end of 2004.

Despite the fall off in immigrant numbers, the Department of Justice tender calls for the plane service for another 24 months.

“Specific destinations to which the department has previously chartered services are Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Algeria, Nigeria, Ghana, and China. Other destinations may include countries ... in the regions of Northern Africa and West Africa, South America and Asia,” the tender said.

In addition, Justice Minister Michael McDowell’s department also plans to carry out joint deportations along with other countries.

“The department may, from time to time, carry out joint charter removal operations with other countries involving stopovers at other airports to collect returnees for onward travel to final destinations,” added the tender.

The contract with a charter plane group is expected to cost between €2m and €3m, according to the recent department advertisement.

Under the proposed Immigration Bill announced by Mr McDowell last September, non-nationals will face deportation for committing a number of minor offences, including traffic offences. It will also be an offence if non-EU nationals living here fail to carry with them special residence permits containing biometric data.

The controversial immigration legislation is planned for introduction before the summer.

Mr McDowell previously denied the sweeping new measures were part of a pre-election “race to the bottom” to exploit voter fears on the issue of immigration.