The State charters return flights to transport people being deported partly as it could be dangerous for accompanying gardaí to have to wait in certain parts of the world for commercial airlines, the Department of Justice has indicated.
In a letter to the Dáil Public Accounts Committee, Department of Justice secretary general Doncha O’Sullivan said, to date, just over €3 million had been paid out under an overall €5 million contract, reached in November 2024, with a company called Air Partner to facilitate “the deportation in the case of third country nationals and removals for EU nationals”.
This figure does not include the cost of transporting people being deported to Nigeria last July.
In correspondence with the department, the Public Accounts Committee wanted to know why charter flights were used for the return leg to Ireland.
“Where a decision is made to return by charter, the return flight can take place on the same plane as used for the removal and takes place shortly after the returned people disembark. The decision to use a return charter is made by the department in consultation with the Garda National Immigration Bureau,” the Department of Justice said.
“In determining whether to use commercial flights or a return charter, consideration is given to the availability and cost of return flights. Each airline has different rules around how many group bookings can be made. In some instances, airlines only allow a small number of seats to be block booked, which could result in escorts and support staff waiting a number of days to return, resulting in them not being able to return to other duties.
“In some cases, the safety of An Garda Síochána staff in the destination country would be a factor taken into account in determining if they should be directly returned on the original charter aircraft”
Fine Gael TD and a member of the Public Accounts Committee James Geoghegan said he was struck by the department’s statement that the safety of gardaí in a destination country could be a factor in deciding to fly them straight home on the charter aircraft.
“There may well be legitimate operational reasons for that, but it raises an obvious question: if there are circumstances where it is considered unsafe for gardaí to remain in a country, how is that assessment reconciled with the decision to return people there? That deserves a clear explanation,” he said.
The Department of Justice said charters had a number of benefits, “including that they allow for groups of people to be removed on one direct flight, whereas most airlines place restrictions on the numbers who can be removed on one flight”.
“Furthermore, in many cases commercial flights will require a transit through a hub airport which brings additional complexity. The security and safety of deportees, Garda and other support personnel and fellow passengers is also an important consideration in determining the mode of travel.”
The Department of Justice told the committee that in addition to the cost of flight charters, in the nine months to September 2025 there were Garda costs of about €1.3 million.
“These costs are in respect of Garda escort activity across all returns, including on commercial flights, specifically travel and subsistence and overtime costs arising.”
Geoghegan said the figures showed “the substantial resources now involved in enforcing deportation orders”.
“And this is not just about money. Every garda required for these operations is unavailable for other duties at a time when we need as many gardaí as possible visible in our communities.”