The State has admitted that “no official data exists” on the number of undocumented migrants currently resident in Ireland.
In response to questions from Gript this week, the Department of Justice confirmed that it has never conducted an analysis of the undocumented population, and that “irregular migration, by its very nature, is clandestine.”
This week Gript asked the Department of Justice three questions:
1. How many undocumented migrants are currently estimated to be present in Ireland?
2. How recent is this estimate and when was the last time the State did such an analysis?
3. By what methodology was that estimate reached?
The Department reapplied: “It is not possible to accurately quantify this figure.”
They added that in cases where individuals without immigration permission are encountered by An Garda Síochána, they are referred to the Department for action such as the issuing of a deportation order.
The admission comes despite the fact that, in 2022, then-Justice Minister Helen McEntee oversaw a “Regularisation of Long-Term Undocumented Migrants Scheme” which offered mass amnesty to those living illegally in the State without status long-term.
Between January and July 2022, the Government invited applications under the scheme from those meeting residency and character requirements, even allowing applicants who held live deportation orders to apply.
“You can apply for this scheme if you…have met the required residency criteria…are of good character and of good conduct, and have no adverse criminal record,” the official FAQ document stated.
The document also noted that “applications will be accepted for processing from applicants who hold a deportation order” provided other criteria were met.
The application fee was €550 for an individual and €700 for a family.
By August 2023, a total of 5,893 applications under the scheme had been determined. Of these, 4,710 were granted, 1,065 were refused, and 118 were withdrawn.
However, there are plausible reasons why other illegal migrants may not have applied for the scheme, such as cost, past criminal convictions, or fear of authorities.
The Department’s policy paper on the scheme referred to earlier estimates produced by the Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland (MRCI), which in 2014 suggested between 20,000 and 26,000 undocumented adults were present in the State. A later 2020 estimate put the figure at between 15,000 and 17,000.
MRCI said its methodology used a “residual method” based on census and Department of Justice data, with coefficients derived from UK research. The approach compared expected non-Irish populations with official records to calculate a range of undocumented totals.
Since then, however, rising migration flows, asylum system backlogs, and the arrival of more than 100,000 Ukrainian nationals under temporary EU protection have made such calculations increasingly difficult.