The fall in the number Gardaí assigned to the National Immigration Bureau is ‘incomprehensible’ given the surge in migrants and asylum seekers arriving in Ireland, Sinn Féin has warned.
New figures show that the number of rank-and-file officers in the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) has fallen from 84 to 79 in the last two years.
The total number, when higher ranks are included, has fallen from 99 to 96 in that time.
On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, Sinn Féin social protection spokesperson Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire said more Gardaí should be working to enforce deportation orders.
He accused the government of failing to follow up on the orders and relying on unsuccessful asylum applicants to leave the country of their own accord.
“We launched our Migration and International Protection document during the week and it contained a number of proposals,” he said.
“One of them was to try and increase efforts to try and ensure that once a letter is issued, that it's followed up upon, because too often, in the instance where somebody is not successful in seeking asylum, what happens then is, effectively, in many instances, they just get the letter and if they fail to respond to that, there's very little follow up,” he said.
“The minister has talked about the expense, the complexity and all that kind of stuff and while we recognize there are challenges, we do believe there's more that can be done.
“I think there is an awful lot more that can be done in terms of cross-checking with accommodation providers, former employers, Revenue and Social Protection to ensure that the location of the person is identified and effect can be given and that they can leave the country - as obviously, they have been unsuccessful.”
Immigration
Deputy Ó Laoghaire said Ireland should treat everyone with decency – but immigration rules do need to be enforced.
He said more Gardaí should be tasked with locating people who are facing deportation orders and ensuring they comply.
“It is effectively policing work,” he said.
“I suppose it's about ensuring that the GNIB is properly resourced and clearly the numbers in that have actually fallen, which is quite disappointing in the context of the challenge that we face.
“What we believe in is a system that's fair, that is humane but that is enforced - and to enforce it we need to ensure that the GNIB is properly resourced.”
He said the Government has “seriously failed” when it comes to Garda numbers – warning that many communities feel unsafe at the moment.
Deportation orders
Sinn Féin is warning that just 948 deportation orders were issued to the 5,711 people who saw their application for asylum in Ireland refused last year.
Meanwhile, just 52 of those orders were enforced by the GNIB.
In June the Department of Justice said 68 people had been deported from the State so far this year.
A further 227 left the country voluntarily after receiving deportation orders.
At the time, some 860 deportation orders had been issued by the Justice Minister.
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Main image shows the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) facility at Dublin Airport, 17-10-2007. Image: Mark Stedman/RollingNews
