Three people held in Cork Prison this month to await deportation

Three people were held in Cork Prison this month while awaiting deportation from the State, with justice minister Jim O’Callaghan confirming that just 9% of the 267 who were detained nationally had criminal convictions.

In response to a parliamentary question from Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon about people detained pending deportation between September 24 and October 3, Mr O’Callaghan said returning people voluntarily is the department’s preferred option.

“If a person does not remove themselves from the State following the issuance of a deportation order, they will be removed, and my department has taken action to significantly improve immigration-enforcement measures and increase removals,” he said.

Mr O’Callaghan said that, nationally, the 2,403 deportation orders signed in 2024 increased by 180%, compared to 857 in 2023. This year, 3,035 deportation orders have been signed up to October 3.

Last year, 1,122 people departed from the State under various mechanisms, an increase of 252%, compared to 317 in 2023.

This year, 1,546 people have had their departure confirmed.

“So far in 2025, four charter-flight operations have removed 130 people who were subject to deportation orders from the State, with a further 137 removed by the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) on commercial airlines,” said Mr O’Callaghan.

“Additionally, 42 people are confirmed as having left the State independently after a deportation order was issued. Further removals will be conducted as the year progresses.”

Mr O’Callaghan said the subject of a deportation order may be detained under Section 5 of the Immigration Act 1999 for up to 56 days in one of the prescribed places of detention, which include prisons and Garda stations.

He said that of the 267 individuals whose deportation orders have been enforced by GNIB so far in 2025, some 212 were detained prior to deportation. Of this group, only 25 had criminal convictions.

The average length of detention prior to deportation was 28 days.

Between the period of September 24 and October 3 of this year, 36 people were detained for the purposes of deportation.

Of these, 27 were detained in Cloverhill Prison, four in Mountjoy Prison, three in Cork Prison, and two in Castlerea Prison.

The minister had previously confirmed that Cork Prison had been used for detention prior to deportation.

It comes as Irish prisons have been consistently overcrowded, with Cork Prison having between 365 and 373 people in custody during the above time period, considerably over its capacity of 296.

The Irish Prison Service was operating at up to 118% capacity during this period.