Twenty-four Romanian men removed from Ireland on charter flight – O’Callaghan
The Justice Minister said the operation was carried out on the grounds of criminality.
Twenty-four Romanian men have been removed from Ireland on a charter flight on grounds of criminality.
Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan said the removal orders were enforced against the men between the ages of 24 and 57 in accordance with the Free Movement Directive.
The flight left Dublin Airport at 4.25pm and has since arrived in Bucharest.
Re-entry bans of up to 10 years have been applied to each man to prevent their return to Ireland.
Another deportation flight left Dublin today and has now landed safely in Bucharest. There were 24 Romanian nationals on board, all of whom had been convicted of crimes in Ireland. As EU citizens, they were removed under the Free Movement Directive.
— Jim O'Callaghan TD (@OCallaghanJim) October 18, 2026
Garda personnel, medical staff, interpreters and a human rights observer accompanied the men on the flight.
Mr O’Callaghan said: “Restricting the right to freedom of movement of European citizens is not a measure I take lightly, but there must be consequences if a person’s criminal behaviour means they should no longer be entitled to access this privilege.
“I will take action if our laws are not upheld and this includes enforcing removal orders for individuals who are a danger to the public.
“The enforcement of removal orders and use of charter flights demonstrates my commitment to taking effective action in this area.”
The costs for the provision of the aircraft for the operation were 182,270 euro.
The Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) was involved in the operation.
Eighteen of the men had been serving prison sentences and were removed directly from Irish Prison Service custody.
The remaining six were arrested and detained across Ireland and were lodged in custody prior to their removal.