OVER 20 MEN were deported to Pakistan on a charter flight from Dublin Airport yesterday.

Some 24 adult men were on board and the Department for Justice said the use of charter flights has “significantly bolstered the capacity of An Garda Síochána to enforce a greater number of deportation orders”.

The people concerned were Pakistani nationals and the charter flight left Dublin Airport yesterday evening at 7pm and arrived in Islamabad this morning.

A spokesperson added that chartered flights are “among the measures Minister Jim O’Callaghan is deploying to increase immigration enforcement”.

It’s the fourth such operation conducted in 2025 since the recommencement of charter flights for deportations in February.

These four charter flights have removed 130 people who were subject to deportation orders.

The government was criticised in June when it emerged that no independent human rights observer was on board a charter flight.

And while the cost of yesterday’s deportation is not known, a previous chartered flight operation to Nigeria on 4 June cost close to €325,000.

Some 35 people, including five children, were deported on this flight and Minister Jim O’Callaghan described it as “value for money”.

Meanwhile, 132 deportation orders have been enforced on commercial flights and 40 people subject to deportation orders are confirmed to have left Ireland unescorted so far in 2025.

O’Callaghan said operations like chartered flights “sends a clear message”.

“If a person’s application for international protection is refused and they are ordered to leave the State, they must do so,” said O’Callaghan.

“If they choose not to leave voluntarily, they will be forced to leave. We must hold firm on this principle because deportations are an essential part of any immigration system.”

He added: “Part of having a rules-based immigration system is that there are consequences when an application is refused and the person does not leave.”

O’Callaghan said the “vast majority of people coming to Ireland follow the legal pathways” and added that it is “important to acknowledge that the vast majority of our Pakistani community are here legally”.

Charter flights operations are conducted under a contract signed by the State in November 2024 for the provision of charter aircraft.

O’Callaghan further remarked: “Unless a person is involved in criminality, they are offered assistance to return home voluntarily before a deportation order is made. This is the best outcome when implementing returns.”

He said the Department has been increasing resources in the Voluntary Return Programme, which has resulted in some 1,175 leaving voluntarily so far in 2025. 

This compares to 934 last year, and 215 in 2023.

Meanwhile, Minister for Migration Colm Brophy described charter flights as a “vital enforcement tool in our removals process”.

“It is essential that people who have no permission to remain in the State are removed, therefore upholding the integrity of the immigration system,” he added.

In a statement this morning, a garda spokesperson said An Garda Síochána continues to work closely with the Department of Justice in implementing immigration policy.