Ten charter deportation operations carried out from Ireland between February 2025 and June 2026 returned 377 people at a combined departmental cost of just over €3.9 million.
The flights, which travelled to destinations including Georgia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Romania, Poland, Lithuania and South Africa, involved 988 Garda escorts. Based on the Department of Justice’s detailed expenditure figures, the operations cost an average of approximately €10,355 for each person returned.
The figures were provided to the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee by Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Secretary General Doncha O’Sullivan in correspondence dated July 2nd, 2026.
The Department said escort numbers were determined by the assessed risks associated with each operation. Factors included the number of adults travelling, whether passengers had criminal backgrounds, the likelihood of resistance and the need to maintain a reserve team in case of injury, illness or another unexpected incident.
Garda escort leaders receive training through the EU border agency Frontex and follow its operational guidance. Their role is to ensure that forced returns are completed safely and professionally, with particular care required when children or family groups are among the passengers.
The largest Garda deployment was recorded on a flight to South Africa on February 28, 2026, when 133 officers accompanied 63 returnees. A further 119 Garda members escorted 34 people on a flight to Poland and Lithuania on May 24, 2026.
Aircraft charter costs accounted for most of the expenditure, totalling €3.55 million. The single most expensive operation was a South Africa flight on June 19, 2026, for which the aircraft cost €904,050.
Other departmental expenditure included almost €162,917 for doctors and paramedics, €106,348 for commercial return travel and €60,165 for flight-management services.
Additional charges of €21,740 included €8,653 associated with an emergency landing during a Nigeria operation in June 2025 and €13,087 for de-icing the aircraft used for a Poland and Lithuania flight in January 2026.
Each group was also accompanied by a human-rights observer. The observer service cost €36,307 for nine of the operations, with the cost relating to the most recent flight unavailable when the Department prepared its response.
Routine Garda escort duties are generally funded through the annual Garda budget. However, the Department has also awarded funding to the Garda National Immigration Bureau through the EU Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund to support non-EU deportation operations.
The funding agreement covers the period from January 2025 until the end of 2027. Two payments worth a combined €1.84 million had been made to the GNIB at the time of the Department’s correspondence. Eligible expenses include additional Garda pay, accommodation, travel, subsistence and interpreter services.
Up to 75 per cent of qualifying expenditure may be recovered through the EU fund. The Department expects the overall repayment to the Exchequer to be in the region of €3.45 million and is seeking reimbursement for eligible charter and commercial-flight costs.
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