PAC raises questions over number of gardaí on board deportation flights

Eight deportation flights last year cost a total of €2.41m and one of them had twice as many gardaí as deportees on board

The 'Irish Examiner' was given access last year to a deportation flight to document how they are run [see link below]. This is a different flight to the one described to the PAC, but it illustrates how they are policed, with gardaí occupying aisle and window seats, leaving the middle seats for deportees. Picture: Chani Anderson

There were twice as many Gardaí as deportees on a Government-chartered deportation flight to South Africa earlier this year, new documents have shown.

The Department of Justice said there were 63 people being deported, but 133 Gardaí were on board.

Correspondence sent to the Public Accounts Committee says the number of Gardaí allocated as escorts is an “operational matter”.

“There may be a blend of family groups, single males, single females and some persons with criminal background on the same flight, that will require a higher or lower level of escorts.

“It is the case that a deportee can withdraw their support at any moment in the process and having a level of escorts to a necessary standard, in line with good practice, mitigates any risk to other passengers and to the escorts.”

It says that a “backup team” is in place in case of an incident or emergency on the plane, or if there is a requirement for an emergency landing.

PAC chair John Brady said while enforcement of asylum decisions is key, the large number of Gardaí involved raises a “serious question”. He said:

While safety on these flights is of course paramount, 133 Gardaí on a single deportation flight to South Africa seems excessive by any measure.

"At a time when communities across the state are experiencing the reality of a Garda recruitment and retention crisis, diverting such significant and scarce policing resources away from their duties is of deep concern.”

He said the rationale provided by the Department “is wholly insufficient and lacks any transparency”.

"We also need full disclosure on the overall costs associated with these flights.”

The correspondence states the costs of hiring all eight deportation flights over the last year was €2.41m.

• Tadgh McNally, Political Reporter