42 BRAZILIAN NATIONALS  have been deported on flights from Ireland over the summer as part of the government’s continued efforts clamp down on immigration, according to Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan.

O’Callaghan announced this morning that the Brazilian nationals were deported via commercial flights, and “included 15 people serving prison sentences” in Ireland.

“None of the 42 had permission to be here,” O’Callaghan said in a social media post on X this morning.

The state has issued 2,713 deportation orders to date this year. 1,386 people have been removed either forcibly or voluntarily. 

O’Callaghan said the process is becoming more efficient and effective.

“If you’re served with a deportation order, it is extremely difficult to continue to stay here,” the minister told RTÉ Radio One’s Today with Claire Byrne.

“You can try and get work in the black market, but aside from that, you get no social welfare supports. It is difficult for you to survive here. And as well as that, you’re subject to arrest.”

Since June there have been 42 deportations of Brazilian nationals on commercial flights to Brazil. The people deported included 15 people serving prison sentences. None of the 42 had permission to be here.

— Jim O'Callaghan TD (@OCallaghanJim) September 4, 2025

The use of commercial flights differs to previous special government charter flights which were used on three occasions this year to remove people from Ireland to Georgia and Nigeria.

However, some of the deportation decisions can be overturned, as happened recently with one man who had been deported to Nigeria in June.

O’Callaghan said today: “Obviously when you charter a flight, you have to identify people from the same country to put onto that flight. So similarly, in respect of Brazil, rather than chartering one flight, we decided to use commercial flights in this operation.

Regarding the people serving prison terms he said they had been deported “because they were not permitted to be in Ireland, notwithstanding the fact that they were in prison”.

He added: “There’s an advantage in that as well, in terms of freeing up prison space.”

The minister said that it is his understanding is that a number of the prisoners were soon going to be eligible for release anyway.

O’Callaghan said the state is “working on” deporting more prisoners. 

“It’s motivated predominantly by the fact that these are people who are in Ireland who do not have permission to be here.”

However, he said, this will not include people at the beginning of their sentence. 

Those who have committed very serious offences will not be sent back to their country of origin prematurely, and will have to serve their sentence here, O’Callaghan added.