Rate of illegal immigrants in Ireland is 10 times the EU average, figures show

Seán McCárthaigh

New EU figures raise fresh questions about the Government’s enforcement of immigration legislation as they reveal Ireland had proportionately the highest number of non-EU citizens found to be illegally present in an EU country last year.

Figures published by the European Commission show the rate of illegal immigrants recorded in the Republic in 2023 in relation to population was over 10 times the EU average.

A total of 1,485 non-EU nationals were found to be illegally present in Ireland last year – an annual increase of 20 per cent.

They represent 28.9 illegal third country nationals per 1,000 Irish inhabitants – the highest per capita rate among the 27 EU member states where the average was 2.8 per 1,000 citizens.

Official EU data on enforcement of immigration legislation in 2023 also shows that Ireland had the second-lowest number of non-EU nationals deported after being issued with an order to leave.

At the same time, it also reveals that Ireland had the 4th highest number of non-EU nationals being refused entry within the EU with 7,405 individuals turned back at entry points to the Republic.

Although the number of migrants found to be illegally in the Republic last year represents just 0.1 per cent of over 1.26 million individuals found to be illegally present across the EU, the high proportion relative to population means immigration is likely to remain one of the key issues in next month’s local and European elections in Ireland.

Last month, the Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee itted that the level of deportations of people who had been denied permission to remain in Ireland was “not where we want to be in of physically removing people.”

The minister’s comments were made against a background where fewer than 100 people out of almost 7,300 who were refused asylum since the start of 2023 were returned to another country.

The latest EU figures show that 17,510 non-EU nationals have been detected as being illegally present in Ireland over the past decade with 10,875 ordered to leave. However, only 2,795 were deported over the same period after being issued with an order to leave.

Across the EU, citizens from Syria ed for one in five of all people found to be illegally present in the EU in 2023.

Other countries which were the main source of non-EU nationals illegally within the EU last year were Afghanistan, Turkey, Morocco, Algeria and Ukraine.

In contrast, the largest number of immigrants found to be illegally in Ireland last year came from Georgia (270), Brazil (240), Pakistan (190) and Albania (185).

The latest figures show that immigration officials ordered 1,065 people to leave Ireland in 2023 – up 69 per cent on the previous year and the highest annual total since 2019.

However, they also reveal that just 290 non-EU nationals were deported from Ireland last year – the second-lowest total among the 27 EU member states after Luxembourg with 265.

Citizens from Brazil, Georgia and South Africa ed for approximately half of all individuals deported from the Republic in 2023.

Almost 484,000 non-EU citizens were ordered to leave the EU last year – up four per cent approximately on 2022 figures with nationals from Morocco, Algeria and Afghanistan ing for the highest numbers.

The latest figures also show 7,405 non-EU citizens were prevented from entering the Republic last year.

It was the 4th highest number among EU member states with only Poland, Hungary and Croatia refusing a higher number of non-EU nationals.

Official figures show that just 3.3 per cent of those refused entry by Irish immigration officials were stopped at border crossings from Northern Ireland.

Georgia (610), South Africa (605) and Somalia (580) were the main countries of origin for non-EU nationals prevented from entering Ireland in 2023.

Immigration data shows 58% were refused entry for having no valid travel documents, while 33 per cent were found to have either a false visa or residence permit.

A total of 65 individuals were refused entry to Ireland on the basis they were classified as “a public threat”, while an alert had been issued in relation to another 10 cases.

Overall, the number of third country nationals refused entry across the EU last year was down 16.5 per cent on 2022 figures to just under 119,000 with citizens from Ukraine, Albania, Moldova, Russia and Turkey ing for almost half of the total.

The European Commission said almost 50% of refusal of entry in EU countries resulted from the absence of a valid visa or residence permit or for no justified purpose or conditions of stay.