50% drop in undocumented arrivals since December

The number of people arriving at Dublin Airport without valid documentation has fallen by more than 50% since December 2022, the Minister for Justice has said.

Speaking to RTÉ’s Drivetime, Simon Harris said the figure fell from 451 in December to 325 in January and to 223 in February.

He attributed the decrease to the placement of gardaí “at airports in key locations across the world”.

However, Mr Harris refused to say where gardaí are located overseas.

Gardaí, he said: “Watch the routes through which they see the largest amount of people arriving without documents. Those routes can change and as those routes change gardaí are agile in their response to it.

“You’re constantly trying to keep up. I’m not talking about keeping up in terms of individual people fleeing persecution. They have a right to come to this country and a right to be welcomed in this country.

“I’m talking about criminal gangs who make an awful lot of money and who exploit people.

“It’s about making sure we provide valid, legal routes. We need more people to come to this country to work in our economy.”

Mr Harris said that the initiative is part of the 2023 Justice Plan which was published today.

It includes a pledge to identify additional measures to prevent travel by people with “no permission” to enter Ireland.

“We give out about 40,000 work permits a year. We have an International Protection Programme that is compassionate,” Mr Harris added.

“The biggest thing we can do to help everybody, including people fleeing persecution, is (provide) faster processing times.

“A big focus on the plan we’re publishing today is increasing staff in the International Protection Office and reducing the time it takes to get a decision.

“It’s reducing to three months if you arrive from a country of safe origin. For unsafe countries, we haven’t yet currently set a target,” the minister said.

The Deparment of Justice said its plan for 2023 outlines more than 140 actions in areas such as immigration, policing, anti-social behaviour, and domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.

50% drop in undocumented arrivals since December
Source: Viral Trends Report