Ireland has deported 42 South African nationals living illegally in the country at an initial cost of €735,000, authorities have disclosed.
The group, comprising nine men, 18 women and 15 children, departed Dublin Airport on a specially chartered flight on Thursday and arrived in South Africa on Friday. The children were all part of family units.
According to Irish authorities, the deportees were removed following deportation orders issued by the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB). Such orders are issued to individuals found to be residing illegally in the country who fail to take advantage of voluntary return arrangements.
Officials revealed that two members of the group had criminal convictions in Ireland.
South Africa is regarded by Ireland as a safe country. However, South African nationals are permitted to seek asylum in Ireland if they are able to provide documentary evidence showing that they are unsafe in their home country.
Ireland’s Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan, stressed that the majority of South Africans residing in Ireland were doing so legally.
“Our immigration system must be rules-based and robust,” he said.
“The enforcement aspects of our laws, including deportation orders, are an essential requirement for the system to work effectively and to ensure there is public confidence in the application of our legislation in this area,” he added.
O’Callaghan noted that the €735,000 figure represented an initial estimate and that the final cost of the operation would only be known after the invoicing process had been completed.
The latest operation was Ireland’s fourth deportation charter flight in 2026. Three earlier operations resulted in the removal of 130 people, including 67 European Union citizens deported on grounds of criminality.
In 2025, Irish authorities signed 4,700 deportation orders, representing a 96 percent increase compared with 2024. So far in 2026, a total of 2,108 deportation orders have been issued.
Official figures also showed that 1,122 people left Ireland through enforced deportation or voluntary return in 2024. That number increased to 2,111 in 2025, while 1,034 people have departed the country through the same mechanisms so far this year.
Voluntary returns rose from 934 in 2024 to 1,616 in 2025. As of mid-2026, 712 people have voluntarily returned to their countries of origin.