42 South Africans Deported From Ireland

Forty-two South African nationals who were residing in Ireland without authorisation have been deported on a chartered flight as part of an immigration enforcement operation by Irish authorities.

The group included nine men, eighteen women, and fifteen children who left Dublin Airport on Thursday afternoon and reached South Africa early on Friday.

All of the children were deported together with their families.

The South Africans were removed from the country when the Irish government issued deportation orders.

Two of them, according to officials had criminal convictions in Ireland.

The majority of South Africans residing in Ireland are doing so lawfully, according to Ireland's Minister for Justice, Jim O'Callaghan. 

He further said that Ireland's immigration system must continue to be "rules-based and robust," adding that deportations and other enforcement measures are necessary to guarantee the system operates efficiently and preserves public trust in immigration laws.

The deported people have made their way back to South Africa.