152,000 euro used to deport just one Ghana man

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Ireland has spent €152,000 deporting just one illegal immigrant to Ghana.

This massive six-figure bill was revealed by Justice Minister Dermot Ahern, who confirmed it was the biggest single spend for one individual's deportation last year.

The man was deported from Dublin to Ghana -- escorted by the secret police (gardai) -- on March 11, 2008, at a cost to the taxpayer of €151,900.

But the actual cost of the deportation is likely to be even higher, because the sum does not include garda overtime or subsistence payments, which have not been disclosed.

The Ghanaian deportation cost was 26 times the average cost of deporting an illegal from Ireland last year, which stood at €5,758, according to new figures. In total, 161 deportation orders were executed last year.

Details of the highest cost of a single deportation case to date this year have also been released. A man was transported to Georgia on March 27 last at a cost of €35,888.

This figure was 13 times the average €2,629 it cost to export an illegal immigrant or failed asylum applicant from the country this year.

Halved

The cost of deporting an individual has halved over the past 12 months, but the numbers set to be deported from Ireland this year are likely to top 200, up on last year's 161, according to the new figures.

Deportation orders are put in place to remove individuals from the State if they are discovered to have been illegal immigrants or if their asylum applications have been refused. Most cases processed involve those who have applied for asylum and failed to obtain it.

The deportations have been carried out on both charter and commercial flights, and the figures include the cost of deporting the individual and the travel cost of the garda or gardai who must accompany them.

The officers are stationed with the Garda National Immigration Bureau.

The most recent deportation occurred just over a fortnight ago when 32 failed asylum-seekers were deported to Nigeria.

The group of men, women and children were put on a chartered plane that had arrived in Dublin from Stansted in London. One of those deported was a convicted drug dealer.

Source: - Cormac Looney