Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan has ruled out automatically deporting all migrants who serve prison sentences in Ireland, saying his response has to be “proportionate” and assessed on an “individual basis”.
Speaking to Gript this week following the latest chartered deportation flight organised by the Department of Justice, the Fianna Fáil Minister said a blanket policy would leave the State open to a “legal challenge” under EU free movement rules.
O’Callaghan was questioned on whether all non-nationals currently serving prison sentences in Ireland for serious offences would be deported once their sentences end.
The Minister pointed to previous deportation operations involving convicted criminals, including flights to Poland and Lithuania, and said many people removed from Ireland on deportation flights have criminal convictions.
“But I suppose the difference between people who are from other nations, other nationalities that are in Irish prisons as opposed to the majority who are Irish citizens, Irish nationals, is I can’t do anything in terms of the latter,” O’Callaghan said.
“But if you come to Ireland and you’re here as a guest and you commit a serious criminal offence, it’s my intention that you should be removed.”
Asked directly whether all such offenders would be deported after completing their sentences, O’Callaghan said each case must be assessed separately.
“I have to look at them all on an individual basis,” he said.
“If I just adopted an across-the-board policy, I would, certainly when it comes to the free movement directive, be opening myself up to a legal challenge. Because my response has to be proportionate.”
When asked why somebody who had committed a crime serious enough to warrant imprisonment would ever be permitted to remain in Ireland afterwards, the Minister said proportionality requirements under law had to be considered.
“It’s not a question of what I want,” O’Callaghan said.
“But in terms of a proportionate response, if somebody, say, was convicted for a term of six months and had been here for many years before prior to that, and was convicted, say, of a minor offence, in such instances that would be regarded, perhaps, as being disproportionate to remove that person.”
The Minister said he had nevertheless adopted what he described as a “very serious approach” towards foreign nationals convicted of serious offences in Ireland.
“But I just want to emphasise clearly that, you know, I have implemented a new policy,” he said.
“I am removing people from the EU who are in Ireland and who have been convicted of serious criminal offences, and I’ve removed people who are international protection applicants or from non-EEA countries in similar circumstances.
“So, I’m taking a very serious approach in response to people who have come to Ireland and have committed serious criminal offences, and that’s something I intend to continue.”
The comments came after the Department of Justice confirmed the completion of a charter removal operation involving 22 Polish nationals and 12 Lithuanian nationals on grounds of criminality last weekend.
According to the Department, all 34 men removed from the State had received custodial sentences for criminal offences, with re-entry bans of up to 10 years imposed.
The deportation flight departed Dublin Airport on Sunday and landed first in Warsaw before continuing on to Vilnius.