Another deportation flight to Georgia has left Ireland as of last night, carrying 39 individuals who had failed to comply with official deportation orders, the Justice Minister has confirmed.
In a post on social media platform X this morning, Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Jim O’Callaghan said: “Another deportation flight left Dublin last night and landed safely this morning in Georgia. There were 39 people on board who had received but had not complied with Deportation Orders.”
The announcement follows a similar deportation operation in February, when 32 Georgian nationals were removed from Ireland on a chartered flight. That operation marked the first large-scale deportation flight under a government contract signed last year for removals.
At the time, O’Callaghan said the move was aimed at ensuring immigration laws were “robust and enforced,” and warned that “there must be consequences” for those who defy deportation orders.
He also said that more flights would follow as part of a broader effort to strengthen immigration enforcement.
Gardaí, medical staff, an interpreter and a human rights observer were present onboard the previous flight, and similar arrangements are understood to have been made for the latest operation.
The rise in deportation flights comes amid ongoing scrutiny of how removal orders are enforced in Ireland.
In 2018, then-head of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service Michael Kirrane told the Oireachtas Justice Committee: “We cannot be precise about how many do [leave] because we don’t have exit checks at the country…”
The Department of Justice has maintained that while many people comply with deportation orders voluntarily, “many hundreds” are believed to have left the State without informing authorities. A spokesperson said the Garda National Immigration Bureau is “satisfied a significant number have done so.”
When asked by Gript how the State verifies departures in the absence of exit checks, the Department responded “The Department of Justice does not comment in detail on operational procedures of the Garda National Immigration Bureau,” refusing to elaborate or explain.
Former Justice Minister Helen McEntee, O’Callaghan’s predecessor, also failed to explain how the State keeps on top of those served with deportation orders.
The issue has attracted attention following several high-profile cases in which individuals remained in Ireland for months or years despite being subject to deportation orders.
These include convicted sex offender Chico Makamda, who was ordered to leave the country by January 2022 but remained in Dublin for months afterwards. He was later rearrested and jailed following a Gript investigation.
Other cases include individuals with multiple convictions—ranging from sexual assault and burglary to firearms offences—who were later found to have active deportation orders that had not been enforced.
Under Irish law, failed asylum seekers or those without legal residency may be offered assistance to leave voluntarily. If they refuse, they become liable for removal by the Garda National Immigration Bureau.
The Department has said the use of chartered flights has “significantly increased” the State’s capacity to carry out deportations.