Minister Jim O’Callaghan confirms completion of charter removal operation to Poland and Lithuania

Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Jim O’Callaghan has this evening confirmed the completion of a charter removal flight of 22 Polish and 12 Lithuanian nationals from the State on grounds of criminality.

Removal Orders were enforced in respect of 34 men ranging in age from mid-twenties (20s) to mid-sixties (60s) in accordance with the Free Movement Directive (Directive 2004/38/EC).

Re-entry bans of up to 10 years have been applied to prevent their return to Ireland.

All those removed as part of this operation had received custodial sentences for a range of criminal offences.

The flight departed Dublin Airport on Sunday 24 May 2026 and landed in Warsaw, Poland at approximately 15.45 (Irish time). The flight subsequently arrived in Vilinius, Lithuania at approximately 17:50 (Irish time).

This operation brings the total number of people removed under the Free Movement Directive to 88 so far in 2026.

In 2025 a total of 56 individuals were removed from Ireland under the Directive.

Today’s operation was conducted in close cooperation with An Garda Síochána and the Irish Prison Service.

Garda personnel, medical staff, interpreters and a human rights observer accompanied the returnees on this flight.

Speaking about today’s successful operation, Minister O’Callaghan said:

Minister of State Brophy added:

The costs for the provision of the aircraft for this operation is €184,465.00 (ex VAT) for a return flight.

Notes for editors

In 2025, six charter flight operations removed 205 people from the State. Of these, five operations to non-EU destinations removed 182 people who were subject to deportation orders and one operation removed 23 EU citizens on grounds of criminality.

Including this operation, three charter flights to date in 2026 have seen the removal of 130 people from the State, including 67 EU citizens who were removed on grounds of criminality.

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.