35 people including children deported from Ireland to Nigeria
Ellen O'Donoghue
Thirty-five people, including five children, 21 men and nine women, were deported from Ireland on Wednesday.
The children were all part of family groups, gardaí said.
They were removed on a chartered flight which left Dublin Airport for Nigeria last night.
The people concerned on Wednesday's flight were Nigerian nationals.
Gardaí from the National Immigration Bureau carried out the operation of removing individuals from the State.
A Garda statement said that they continue to work closely with the Department of Justice in implementing immigration policy.
This was the third operation conducted since the recommencement of charter flights for deportations in February, the Department of Justice said.
"Removal operations of this nature send a clear message that there are consequences for people who remain in our country without permission and underscores this Government’s intention to protect the integrity of our immigration system," Justice Minister, Jim O'Callaghan, said.
Charter flights are a measure that Mr O'Callaghan has deployed to step up immigration enforcement, and access to the charter services has "significantly increased" An Garda Síochána's capacity to enforce deportation orders.
Further charter operations will be conducted as the year progresses, a Department of Justice statement said.
Mr O'Callaghan said that Ireland has a "rules-based immigration system," and added that it is important those rules are robust and enforced.
"The return of people whose applications have been refused and deportation orders have issued is the foundation of any modern rules-based immigration process.
"People coming to Ireland must follow the appropriate pathways for legal migration and these pathways must be adhered to and protected for our immigration system to work fairly and effectively. If a person’s application for international protection is refused and they are ordered to leave the State they must do so.
"The flight was required to make an unscheduled stop due to a medical incident on board, but I am happy to say that the flight was able to resume its journey with all 35 returnees arriving safely in Nigeria this morning," Mr O'Callaghan said.
The Department of Justice added that charter flights are used in addition to commercial flights, as they be more appropriate in circumstances where a group of people are being removed to the same destination.
Mr O'Callaghan added that enforced removals are "conducted as a measure of last resort when the person concerned has not removed themselves from the State or availed of assisted voluntary return measures.
"Before a deportation order is made, the person is offered assistance to return home voluntarily which is the preferred option. There has been a significant increase in the number of people leaving voluntarily and I continue to appeal to those who are given this opportunity to avail of it where appropriate.”
Two charter flights already conducted in 2025 have removed 71 people who were subject to deportation orders, and the operation lat night brings the number of people removed by charter flight to 106.
A further 54 deportation orders have been enforced on commercial flights and 23 people subject to deportation orders are confirmed to have left Ireland unescorted so far in 2025, the Department of Justice said.
