Some asylum-seekers 'non-returnable' to country of origin, Government paper shows

Document said there were also cases where a person was refused the right of residency in Ireland but where there would be other significant challenges in seeking to remove them.

A Government briefing on deportation policy said some people were “non-returnable” to their country of origin due to serious mental health issues or an inability to determine their nationality.

The discussion paper also detailed how removals of whole families from Ireland rarely took place and any attempt to do so generally attracted “negative publicity and political comment”.

The Department of Justice document detailed some of the many challenges in deporting people and how many cases could be “painful” and were “not always straightforward”.

It said there were a significant number of “non-returnables”, people who for a variety of reasons could not be removed from Ireland.

The paper said: “Cases such as these can involve mental illness, an inability to identify nationality and on occasion, they can involve serious offences including those of a sexual nature, which attract negative media and public comment.

“An overarching policy on non-returnables might provide for some pragmatism in case management.” 

It said there were also cases where a person was refused the right of residency in Ireland but where there would be other significant challenges in seeking to remove them.

This could involve cases where a person’s whole family was already here, where it was impossible to get travel documents, or where the country of origin simply refused to accept their return.

The discussion document said: “In such cases, the State should not leave these people in limbo, living for long periods in direct provision. Instead, it should deal with these realities and decide to grant them temporary or tolerated leave to remain.” 

Another challenge was in the deportation of individuals who had arrived in Ireland as youngsters and never known any life except here.

It said cases had cropped up where people in these circumstances had committed a crime, “some of it at a serious level”.

The department paper added: “Some of them have little or no familiarity with their country of origin and are more Irish in everything but citizenship”. 

It posed the question: “When does criminality trump other considerations? 

In matters where integration and immigration intersect, what are the possible effects on young people of arguably being considered aliens by the State they identify most closely with. 

Serious illness was also another factor that had to be considered when deciding on a deportation.

The State had cases where people were suffering from HIV/Aids or other life-threatening illnesses, and they were very unlikely to get the same standard of medical treatment in a different country.

The paper said: “It is highly debatable whether the medication these individuals need to live will be available in their home states.” 

Other questions were raised over parental responsibilities where a mother or father might be separated but were still “actively playing a constructive role” in their child’s life.

The discussion paper also asked how persistent lower-level criminality, such as motoring offences, should impact how decisions were made.

Ethical considerations

It also raised ethical considerations over deportations where the person had never come to “adverse attention” and was a productive member of Irish society.

However, it added: “It creates conflict between people who pursue a legitimate course of action to reside in the State and those who dip under the radar.

To not deport such a cohort rewards those who do not follow the law and disincentivise those who do. 

The paper also discussed the possibility that a loose deportation policy could become a “pull factor”, especially in an environment where countries like the UK were talking about the removal of migrants to Rwanda.

“The current restriction on deportation may be one pull factor for would-be migrants, but others might include the favourable experiences of those already in situ, well-publicised welfare rates, perceptions of housing entitlements and the vibrant jobs market, particularly in some sectors that hold an attraction for unskilled labour.” 

The document also flagged how migration issues were being “exploited by less acceptable elements in Irish society”, especially amid housing and cost-of-living crises.

The paper was prepared during the moratorium on deportations that was in place during the covid-19 pandemic.

The Department of Justice had originally released a heavily redacted version of it under freedom of information laws but was instructed to make public a far greater level of detail following an appeal to the Information Commissioner.