Yesterday, when Gript’s Ben Scallan asked Minister for Justice Helen McEntee about the issue of deportations, she referred to the fact that it is usually left up to people who have been issued with an order to deport themselves.
While admitting that the state does not actually have any “exit checks” in place to ensure that this is taking place, she claimed that of those issued with an order “we do believe that the majority of people have left the country.”
But, Minister, is that the case?
Documents in response to a FOI request sent in by a reader to Gript shed further light on the failure of the state to implement proper deportations of criminals and others found to have no legal right to remain here.
Last year, a mere 26 of 271 orders – less than 10% – were enforced deportation orders. In a standard deportation order, the State just trusts these people to leave, where in an enforced deportation, as the name suggests, the person is deported by the authorities.
From the end of January to the end of September this year the total number had only risen to 30.
However, that was 30 enforced deportation in contrast to 761 deportation orders issued – so a mere 4% of the total of deportation orders that have been issued during that period were an enforced order.
So, while the Minister is correct in stating that the numbers of deportation orders “are increasing,” over 90% of deportation orders still rely on those who receive the orders to self-deport themselves from the state.
And the fact remains that the Minister was unable to answer Gript’s question as to how exactly the State is keeping tabs on those who are meant to do the right thing apparently and “self-deport”.
There is no data regarding the efficiency of the “self-deportation” system – although as Ben pointed out to the Minister, this supposed safeguard was clearly ignored in the case of convicted sex offender Chico Makamba – who is originally from Angola, had 15 prior convictions, was guilty of physically assaulting multiple women, sexual assault, false imprisonment, exposing himself to teenage girls, masturbating in public, robbery and more, but was spotted wandering around Dublin months after being issued with a deportation order.
Indeed, there are other examples, some of them involving people who are not unknown to the public because of their political activism, and some of these people were issued with deportation orders more than ten years ago.
Gript has also referred previously to EU figures on deportations from the Irish state which would seem – given that they are somewhat higher than the figures contained in official statistics such as the above – would appear to include people who leave voluntarily. If that is the case we are also talking about very small numbers.
Other information which Gript has published indicates that there has been no increase in the efficiency of the deportation system. Indeed, if anything the table above is proof that matters are getting worse.
We have also previously noted that where there is a determination within the Justice Department and other authorities to deport, that this is constantly frustrated by appeals, sometimes on trivial matters.
The fact – as another Freedom of Information request secured by Gript this week shows – that people claiming asylum here have enormous latitude for changing their story, is not helpful either.
Some of the examples of this might be thought amusing were it not that they are verging on making a mockery of any proper process.
All of which again underlines the fact that any good intentions on the part of the state to deal with the level of bogus asylum claims, and with people who have been found guilty of often serious crimes, is being successfully, and it would appear increasingly successfully, frustrated.