A record number of non-EU nationals were found to be unlawfully present in Ireland last year, following a 67% increase in detections of individuals with no authorisation to remain in the State.
New figures on the enforcement of immigration legislation across the EU also show that a record number of foreign nationals were issued with orders to leave Ireland in 2025, and that a record number of those orders were actually carried out, reports Breaking News.
A report published by the European Commission shows that 5,460 individuals were found to be illegally present in Ireland in 2025, up from 3,265 the previous year.
Brazilians accounted for the highest number at 1,080, followed by Georgians at 930, Algerians at 535 and Nigerians at 395.
Despite the record figure, the report also highlighted that the number of people found to be illegally present in Ireland remains proportionately below the EU average, with 1.0 per 1,000 population in Ireland compared to the EU average of 1.6, reports Breaking News.
The increase in Ireland bucked the general European trend, where the number of immigrants found to be unlawfully present across the 27 EU member states fell by almost 22% overall in 2025, down from a recent annual peak of over 1.2 million in 2023 to just over 719,000 last year.
A record 6,260 non-EU nationals were also issued with orders to leave Ireland in 2025, an annual increase of 91%, with Georgian citizens accounting for the largest share for the third consecutive year, reports Breaking News.
A record 2,030 individuals who had been issued with an order to leave were actually returned to a third country last year — up from 1,055 in 2024 — with 74% having received some form of administrative, logistical or financial support through EU-funded repatriation programmes.
The vast majority of returns were voluntary, with just 18% carried out by forced deportation, reports Breaking News.
Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan stated that the use of special charter flights to return individuals to their home countries underlines a renewed focus on immigration enforcement.
In replies to parliamentary questions, he confirmed that over 800 people currently subject to a deportation order are residing in International Protection Accommodation Services, reports Breaking News.
Separately, the report shows that 132,600 third-country nationals were refused entry to the EU at external border crossings in 2025, an increase of 7%, though the number refused entry at Irish borders fell by 4% to 6,610.
Albanians accounted for the largest share of refusals at Irish borders with 1,280, followed by Brazilians at 725 and Somalis at 615, reports Breaking News.
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