McEntee‘hiding asylum reality’
Minister accused of releasing obscure and incomprehensible figures for deportation of bogus applicants
JUSTICE Minister Helen McEntee came under renewed pressure this weekend when she was accused of releasing ‘obscure’ and ‘incomprehensible’ figures relating to the deportation of bogus asylum seekers.
According to the figures released to Independent TD Michael McNamara, Ms McEntee, pictured right, said that 857 ‘deportation orders were signed in 2023’. She also confirmed that 317 people, ‘were removed from the State under various processes in 2023’, but some of this number relates to deportation orders from previous years. Of the 857 orders signed last year – in the breakdown of figures provided by the minister – she acknowledged that only 52 of these were ‘enforced’ by the Garda National Immigration Bureau.
A further 21 deportations were listed under the heading ‘EU removal’, which generally refers to people who have committed a crime or are seen as a threat to public safety.
The majority of the deportations (213) were described as ‘voluntary returns’, which refers to people who have left the jurisdiction before a deportation order has been issued.
Mr McNamara – a barrister with experience of immigration law – said he could not understand ‘how this is included in the figures on deportation orders, given that the whole point of a voluntary return is to avoid a deportation order’.
The Clare TD was also bewildered by the classification of a further 28 deportations – described as ‘selfdeportation’ – which refers to asylum applicants that the department says have voluntarily left the jurisdiction, after exhausting all legal processes and being served with an order to leave the State.
Mr McNamara told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘It is not clear, for example what proofs are required for self-deportation or how that operates.’
According to the figures supplied by Ms McEntee, a further three deportation orders were the result of a ‘D III transfer’.
This refers to the Dublin III Regulation 2013 that covers asylum applicants who have entered Ireland from another European country. Under the regulation they can be returned to that country, but only if the process is carried out within six months of their arrival here.
Mr McNamara said the only clear data provided by the minister, ‘are the Garda National Immigration Bureau and the EU Removal figures’.
The Independent TD said of the responses provided by Ms McEntee: ‘Nothing in these figures would build any confidence that the current deportation system is in any way robust. It is not even comprehensible, let alone robust.
‘They simply do not add up. There is an utter absence of clarity in the figures, which raises real questions as to why the figures are so obscure.
‘Even a barrister with experience in immigration law could not make head or tail of that response,’ he added.
The war of words over the deportation figures comes amid speculation that Ms McEntee – who was once regarded as a potential successor to the outgoing Taoiseach Leo Varadkar – could be demoted from Justice to less highprofile Cabinet position, or even a junior ministry.
Ms McEntee’s difficulty also comes as new figures confirm a significant rise in the number of asylum seekers arriving in the country in recent weeks.
Speaking at the launch of the Government’s new immigration plan this week, Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman promised that a new ‘comprehensive accommodation strategy’ will see ‘a move away from full reliance on private providers and towards a core of State-owned accommodation, delivering 14,000 State-owned beds by 2028’.
But, again, serious questions are being raised about the proposed
‘These figures simply do not add up’
strategy’s capacity to meet the continuing increase of asylum seekers arriving here. While there has been a significant fall in the number of Ukrainian refugees arriving in Ireland in recent weeks, there has been a steep rise in the numbers of asylum applicants who are seeking international protection.
Since the Russian invasion of their country in February 2022,
more than 104,400 Ukrainians have arrived in Ireland.
According to latest data from the Department of Justice, the average daily arrivals from Ukraine dropped from 74 in November to 47 in January, falling to 25 a day last month.
But this fall in war refugees from the eastern European country is being offset by a corresponding rise in the number of asylum
seekers arriving here. New International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) figures confirm that 479 asylum seekers landed in the country between March 11 and March 17, an average of 68 a day. If this trend continues, more than 24,000 asylum seekers will arrive here this year. This is a significant increase on previous years. The number of asylum seekers coming here rose
by almost 8,000 between 2022 and 2023, from 18,534 in 2022 to 26,371 last year. One senior Government source said of the Coalition’s response to the escalating immigration crisis: ‘Under Roderic, we are running to a standstill. The increased 14,000 places will only serve to maintain the current crisis.’
Aontú leader Peadar Tóibin also criticised the State’s response:
‘This is another example of Government complicity with chaos from monitoring deportations to the appalling spectacle where tents on the side of the road are now a permanent feature of refugee provision. Minister O’Gorman’s new plan represents nothing more than a continuation of unmanaged chaos.’
Responding to Mr McNamara’s criticism, a Department of Justice
spokesman said: ‘In responding to the Deputy’s question the Minister was endeavouring to give as comprehensive a reply as possible and the Department will clarify any aspect of the information provided as required.
‘The number of removals in any given year can include removals on foot of deportation orders made in previous years.’