On Sunday, 18 October, Ireland removed 24 Romanian men from the State on a charter flight from Dublin to Bucharest. Ireland's Department of Justice says all had been convicted in Irish courts and had served prison terms. This is not a new trial and not a sentence handed down in Romania.

The aircraft left Dublin at 16.25 and reached Bucharest at 20.00 Irish time, 22.00 in Romania. The men were aged 24 to 57. RTE, citing gardaí, says 18 were taken straight from prison. Six others, according to police briefings carried in the press, had been arrested and held before the flight. Gardaí, medical staff, interpreters and a human rights observer were on board.

The measure is an EU Free Movement removal, not the deportation of a non-EU asylum applicant. Minister Jim O'Callaghan can issue a removal order and an exclusion of up to ten years if a person's conduct is judged a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat. "Up to ten years" does not mean each man got ten.

Dublin's notice does not list each man's offences. Some Romanian headlines mix police operations (burglary, drugs, violence) as if they described the 24 files. That is a list of operations gardaí link to such flights, not an indictment by name. We stay with what is official: Irish custodial convictions, then a removal order.

The aircraft cost 182,270 euros, excluding VAT. In 2026, Ireland has now enforced 148 Free Movement removals, counting this flight. Charter operations this year have removed 245 people, including 91 EU citizens, Minister of State Colm Brophy said. He added that most Romanians in Ireland obey the law and contribute there.

O'Callaghan said restricting an EU citizen's free movement is not a step he takes lightly, but that there must be consequences. The 24 are barred from return. Any challenge is in Ireland, not here. The flight is over. Their criminal cases remain with the Irish courts.

Image: Commons user 瑞丽江的河水, Dublin Airport Terminal 1, May 2024, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; the terminal, not Sunday's flight.

Sources consulted: Ireland has expelled 24 Romanians convicted of crimes, banning them from returning for up to 10 years - informat.ro; Minister Jim O Callaghan announces the removal of 24 Romanian nationals by charter flight on grounds of criminality - gov.ie.