THE MINISTER for Justice has confirmed that 12 Congolese and eight Nigerians who were on board a flight costing €337,800 to deport them last July remain in Ireland.
According to Alan Shatter, the flight for Nigeria and the Congo was forced to return to Ireland last July after Algerian aviation authorities withdrew permission to enter their airspace mid-flight.
The flight was organised through the Frontex network involving the immigration authorities of Finland, Germany, Norway, Sweden and France as well as from this State. It was due to land in Lagos, Nigeria, and in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“The cost of chartering the plane was fully borne by the company appointed to provide chartered aircraft and ancillary services to my department,” Mr Shatter said. However, “€22,000 was incurred by my department in ancillary costs relating to this flight, such as securing documentation for the returnees and sending advance parties of Garda National Immigration Bureau [GNIB] members to Lagos and Kinshasa to ensure that landing permits and all other requirements were obtained in advance”.
Mr Shatter said that “on departure, the flight had all of the necessary paperwork in order, including all of the necessary permits to enter the various countries’ airspace”.
In a written Dáil response to a question by Dara Calleary (Fianna Fáil) on deportations, he said: “A total of 14 Nigerian and 12 Congolese nationals were due to be returned by Ireland to Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on that flight.
“Of the 14 Nigerian nationals, six have subsequently been deported from the State. The remaining individuals are still liable for removal . . .”
The Minister confirmed that last year it cost the State just under €1 million to deport 280 people, of whom 235 were failed asylum seekers.
