Ireland flies over 40 Georgian nationals back to Georgia in €225k chartered deportation

Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan announced that a chartered aircraft flew 43 Georgian nationals out of Ireland, including a family of three children, marking the sixth such operation this year. The flight departed Dublin Airport at 1.50 pm and touched down in Tbilisi at 6.40 pm Irish time, with a reported cost of €225,575 (ex-VAT). Among those returned were 33 adult males and seven adult females; the deportations were carried out alongside Gardaí, medical personnel, an interpreter and an independent human-rights observer.

O’Callaghan said deportations are essential to keep the immigration system robust and to maintain public confidence, while also acknowledging that most Georgian residents contribute positively to Irish society. He highlighted the voluntary return programme as the preferred route before a deportation order is issued. Minister of State for Migration Colm Brophy described the operations as complex but necessary within Ireland’s asylum and immigration framework. The department indicated more chartered deportations are planned for the remainder of the year.