Nine failed deportees still on the run

Nine failed African asylum seekers who arrived back in Dublin Airport last year after their deportee flight was turned back are evading Irish authorities.

The group, made up of 12 Congolese and 14 Nigerians, were on board a flight costing €337,800 that was forced to turn back after Algerian aviation authorities withdrew permission to enter their airspace mid-flight.

The flight returned last July with the 26 deportees on board. Alan Shatter, the justice minister, said six of the 14 Nigerians had been subsequently deported, one more had been removed from the State, while 14 were awaiting deportation.

However, Mr Shatter stated that nine were evading authorities.

In a written Dáil response to Fianna Fáil TD, Dara Calleary, Mr Shatter said: “They are liable for arrest, detention and removal if encountered by the Garda National Immigration Bureau.

“However, in general, the experience has been that persons evading their deportation have already left the jurisdiction. Arrangements are being made to deport the remaining five persons as soon as possible.

“Of the remaining five persons, one person has had their deportation order revoked. The remaining four persons are all part of the same family; a mother and three children. The youngest child had not previously claimed asylum and on returning to Ireland, an application for asylum was made on behalf of the child by its mother.

“Accordingly, an undertaking not to deport the family unit has been given until an outcome has been reached on the youngest child’s asylum claim.”

Last July’s flight was organised through the Frontex network involving the immigration authorities of Finland, Germany, Norway, Sweden and France as well as Ireland and was due to land in Lagos, Nigeria, and Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mr Shatter said “the cost of chartering the plane was fully borne by the company appointed to provide chartered aircraft and ancillary services to my department.”

However, the department incurred €22,000 “in ancillary costs relating to this flight.”

Mr Shatter said that there was one other occasion where a deportation flight was returned to Ireland with the deportees on board.

“This occurred on Dec 15, 2010, when a flight travelling to Lagos, Nigeria, via Athens, Greece, could not continue due to the aircraft developing a technical fault at Athens airport.”

The flight returned to Dublin containing 35 deportees. Seven of those on board continue to evade their deportation, he added.