The Department of Justice has spent more than €3 million to date under a €5 million contract to charter flights for enforcement removals and deportations, according to details submitted to the Dáil Public Accounts Committee.

In correspondence provided to the committee, Department of Justice Secretary General Doncha O'Sullivan outlined the policy rationale behind chartering aircraft rather than relying solely on commercial transit services. O'Sullivan stated that sending deportees via commercial flights can require accompanying Garda escorts to wait for connecting flights in certain foreign jurisdictions, posing significant security and safety risks to personnel.

The service contract, awarded in November 2024 to aviation charter firm Air Partner, covers the deportation of third-country nationals as well as removal operations for EU citizens. In addition to charter flight expenditure, the department disclosed that Garda escort activities across all return operations—including commercial flights—cost approximately €1.3 million in travel, subsistence, and overtime during the nine months leading up to September 2025.

Official correspondence also noted that a substantial portion of deportation-related expenditure, including up to 75 percent of eligible Garda escort costs, is expected to be recouped through the European Union's Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund.