Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Jim O’Callaghan announces Charter Removal Flight to remove 33 Polish and Lithuanian nationals from the State
- Foilsithe:
- An t-eolas is déanaí:
The Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Jim O’Callaghan has this evening announced the completion of a removal operation of 17 Polish citizens (16 males, 1 female) and 16 Lithuanian citizens (15 males, 1 female) on grounds of criminality.
These orders were made in accordance with the Free Movement Directive (Directive 2004/38/EC), and re-entry bans of up to 10 years have been applied to prevent their return to Ireland.
Removal orders were enforced against 31 men and 2 women on today’s flight ranging in age from early 20s to early 60s.
All those removed had received custodial sentences for a range of criminal offences.
In 2025, a total of 56 individuals were removed from Ireland under the Free Movement Directive.
26 people were removed on commercial airlines, 23 on a charter operation to Romania and a further 7 individuals removed themselves from the State.
The operations are conducted in close cooperation with the Irish Prison Service and An Garda Síochána.
The returnees on this flight were accompanied by Garda personnel, medical staff, two interpreters and a human rights observer.
Commenting on today’s operation, Minister Jim O’Callaghan said:
“The right to freedom of movement is among the most fundamental rights and freedoms provided to European citizens that we strive to protect. Securing this right for our citizens is one of the most important achievements of the European Union, offering people the opportunity to work, study and live in 31 countries, and assuring their protections to do so.
“Restricting the right to freedom of movement is not a measure I take lightly, but there must be consequences if a person’s behaviour means they should no longer be entitled to access this privilege. I will take action if our laws are not upheld and this includes enforcing removal orders for individuals who are a danger to society and to the people of Ireland.
“It is important to remember that the majority of Polish and Lithuanian nationals’ resident in Ireland respect our laws and contribute positively to society.
“I would like to extend my thanks to members of An Garda Síochána and officials from my Department for their continued hard work on conducting these removal operations.”
Today’s operation saw the removal of 33 EU citizens.
Citizens of the European Union, European Economic Area and Switzerland and their qualifying family members have the right to move and reside within these territories under conditions provided in the Free Movement Directive.
The Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration can issue an order to restrict these rights and expel a person on grounds of Public Policy, Public Security or Public Health.
Minister of State Colm Brophy added:
“It is important that people who come to Ireland to live, work and integrate into our communities, respect and comply with the laws of the State.
“Today’s operation shows our commitment in upholding our laws, and that we prioritise the removal of people who are involved in criminality.
“Last year saw 56 people removed from Ireland under the Directive, underpinning our dedication in this area.”
This charter flight departed Dublin Airport at 12.30 and arrived in Warsaw, Poland before it then travelled to Vilnius, Lithuania.
The costs for the provision of the aircraft for this operation are €122,000 for a return flight.
ENDS…///
Notes for Editors
Citizens of the European Union, European Economic Area and Switzerland and their qualifying family members have the right to move and reside within these territories under conditions provided in the Free Movement Directive.
Under the European Communities (Free Movement of Persons) Regulations 2015, which transposes the Free Movement Directive (Directive 2004/38/EC) into Irish law, the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration can issue orders for both the removal and exclusion of an EU citizen or their family member who represent a danger to public policy, public security or public health. These orders can be made on the grounds that the individual’s personal conduct represents a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat affecting one of the fundamental interests of society.
A removal order means the person must leave Ireland and if an exclusion order is made a re-entry ban can be imposed for a specified period of up to ten years.
The table below details the number of orders which have been made under the European Communities (Free Movement of Persons) Regulations 2015 in 2023, 2024 and 2025, and the total number of people whose removal from the State was enforced by the Garda National Immigration Bureau.
* Please note, figures are correct at time of issue, however, all statistics may be subject to data cleansing. An enforcement order may have been signed in a previous year.
Charter flight services are provided by Air Partner Ltd under a contract entered into in November 2024. This contract was signed following a competitive and open procurement process.
