A chartered deportation flight left Dublin for Tbilisi, Georgia, last night, carrying 32 people who had previously received deportation orders.
Among them were 28 men, three women, and one child, who was part of a family group.
Notably, this was the first deportation operation after the State signed a contract last year for the provision of charter flights for the purpose.
Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan confirmed the operation in a post on X, stating that the flight had landed safely and that “the people are back safely in Georgia.”
The deportees were accompanied by gardaí, medical staff, an interpreter, and a human rights observer.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Minister O’Callaghan emphasised that those not entitled to asylum should not come to Ireland.
Georgia, designated a safe country of origin in 2018, remains one of the top five nationalities seeking International Protection in Ireland. In 2023, the leading countries of origin for asylum seekers in Ireland were Nigeria, Algeria, Afghanistan, Somalia, and Georgia.