40% surge over last year includes visa violators and rejected asylum seekers; Indians among those affected
Ireland’s Department of Justice has dramatically escalated its approach to immigration enforcement, issuing 3,370 deportation orders in the first nine months of this year—a 40% increase over all of 2024.
The figures, released to the Public Accounts Committee, show a sharp rise from 2,403 deportation orders issued throughout 2024 and just 857 in 2023. However, many of those ordered deported remain in the country for various procedural reasons.
Deportation orders target not only rejected asylum seekers but also those who entered legally but overstayed, failed to initiate required application processes, or violated visa conditions. Indian nationals feature prominently among visa violators, primarily students caught working beyond legally permitted hours during workplace inspections.
Nigeria led asylum applications this year with 1,401 requests, followed by Somalia (1,315), Pakistan (1,230), Afghanistan (967), and Georgia (690). Ireland has received 9,589 international protection applications so far this year, while the backlog of pending cases decreased from 22,554 to 17,021.
Currently, 32,617 people, including 9,567 children, are housed in 316 International Protection Accommodation Services centers nationwide. However, appeal processing times have increased from 10 months in 2024 to 12.8 months currently.
The department reported saving €52.9 million through renegotiating 104 accommodation contracts and has tripled its International Protection Office staffing to 630 employees since 2022.
Officials acknowledged that deportations are costly and complex to execute, noting that European Union policy favors encouraging voluntary returns over forced removals.