Figures from the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration show that 10 charter operations carried out between February 2025 and June 2026 returned people to countries including South Africa, Nigeria, Pakistan, Georgia, Romania, Poland and Lithuania.
Charter aircraft accounted for the bulk of the spending, costing €3.55 million, while the department spent additional funds on medical teams, commercial travel, flight management and human rights observers.
South Africa flights among most expensive operations
South Africa accounted for two of Ireland’s most expensive deportation operations, with the Department of Justice reporting that a June 19, 2026 charter flight that returned 42 South African nationals cost €735,000 for the aircraft.
The group included nine men, 18 women and 15 children, with all children travelling as part of family units, while Irish authorities said two of those removed had criminal convictions in Ireland.
Earlier, another South Africa-bound charter flight on February 28, 2026, cost €585,075 and returned 63 people, including 54 adults and nine children.
The operation involved 133 Garda officers, with authorities citing security requirements for the large deployment.
Irish officials said those removed had received deportation orders after being found to be living in Ireland without legal permission and failing to take up voluntary return options.
Nigeria operations include criminal convictions cases
Beyond South Africa, Nigeria was among the African countries targeted under Ireland’s charter deportation programme.
A Nigeria-bound operation in June 2025 cost €324,714 and returned 35 Nigerian nationals, including 30 adults and five children.
A separate Nigeria operation completed in July 2026 involved six Nigerian men aged between 25 and 40. According to the Department of Justice, five of those removed had a combined 35 criminal convictions for various offences.
The six men were flown from Dublin to Rome before joining a Frontex-managed Joint Return Operation to Nigeria, which later arrived in Lagos.
Pakistan, Georgia and eastern Europe also targeted
Ireland also used charter flights to return people to Pakistan and fellow EU countries Georgia and Romania, as well as Poland and Lithuania.
A September 2025 operation to Pakistan removed 24 people at a cost of €473,000, making it one of the most expensive deportation flights under the programme.
The first charter deportation flight took place in February 2025, when 32 people were returned to Georgia at a cost of €102,476. Two more Georgia operations followed in May and November 2025, costing €103,751 and €187,625 respectively.
Flights to Poland and Lithuania were also carried out in January and May 2026. The January operation cost €187,625, while the May flight returned 34 people and involved 119 Garda escorts.
The increase in charter deportation flights reflects Ireland’s tougher immigration enforcement approach, with 4,700 deportation orders issued in 2025, a 96 per cent increase from the previous year, and a further 2,108 orders signed by June 5, 2026.
Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan defended the use of deportation orders, saying enforcement was necessary for Ireland’s immigration system to function effectively.
“The enforcement aspects of our laws, including deportation orders, are an essential requirement for the system to work effectively and to ensure there is confidence in the application of our legislation in this area,” O’Callaghan said.
