Convicted criminals released early before being deported on charter flights

Ken Foxe

Two dozen convicted criminals were released from prison an average of seven-and-a-half months early before being flown out of the country.

The 24 men were taken from jail and put aboard a €184,465 charter flight to Poland and Lithuania in May.

Internal department briefing notes detail how those removed included offenders convicted of sexual crimes and domestic violence.

However, a note for Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan said victims were consulted before anybody convicted of sexual or domestic-violence offences was removed.

A further 10 men aboard the charter flight had already finished their sentences but ignored orders to leave Ireland.

They were tracked down and detained by immigration gardaí in the days before the flight, according to the internal documents.

All 34 of those on the flight were barred from returning to Ireland for between three and 10 years.

The records show that 16 of those flown out of the State had a drug-related offence listed as their most serious conviction.

The briefings also prepared the minister for tricky questions about the nationality of those removed and whether they were part of marginalised or disadvantaged groups.

A suggested answer said: “Returnees were identified based on the date their custodial sentence ends or had ended.

“This operation was to Poland and Lithuania, but factors such as a person’s ethnic group, race or religion did not play a part in identifying returnees.”

Another suggested response added: “The simple reality is that Poland and Lithuania have the highest number of persons who were in the last year of their current custodial sentence or had recently been released at the end of the custodial sentence.

“That is why we have operated another charter to these countries.”

It said the individuals involved would be placed on “watchlists” and they would be refused entry to the State if they attempted to re-enter Ireland before their exclusion order was over.

The briefings detailed how nearly 300 EU citizens had been removed from Ireland since 2020 with numbers ramping up this year.

If asked why so few had been removed over the seven-year period, a suggested response for the minister said it was “incumbent on the State to demonstrate ongoing risk” from the individuals.

It said: “The removal of EU citizens is a very complex process as EU citizens enjoy a very high bar of rights, and each case is considered in accordance with the law.”

For queries about releasing sex offenders early from their sentences, a briefing said the minister could emphasise there had been consultation with victims in every case.

“We hope that this will give extra reassurance to the victims knowing that the perpetrator was removed from the State,” a suggested response said.

Asked about the operation, a Department spokesperson said: “The Prisons Act 2015 allows the removal of a person who is serving a sentence of imprisonment and is the subject of a Removal Order or a Deportation Order, up to 12 months in advance of the completion of their sentence.

“For the charter cited, 24 people were removed from prison prior to the end of their custodial sentence. Nobody who was convicted of a serious crime was released and removed without consultation with An Garda Síochána and the victim.

“Removing a person before the end of their custodial sentence ensures that serious criminals are not released back into the community.”

The spokesperson added that the seven-and-a-half-month figure also did not account for the possibility of early release, which might have been available to some of the prisoners on good behaviour grounds.