This morning, I was contacted by members of Fingal Communities Against Racism, a group of which I am a member. They advised me that despite the commitment given by the Taoiseach in this House last week that there would be no deportations, a young man was deported from Dublin Airport at 11 o'clock this morning. They stated:

By the time we were informed, within 1 hour of him being lifted to Dublin Airport, he was awaiting deportation on a flight, alone, and only had his mobile phone to communicate with us

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By the time we had began to work on raising the issue with the Taoiseach, Ministers, and Lawyers; this man's phone was turned off. He had been deported.

My understanding is that he is on his way to England, that he was moved this morning at 11 o'clock and that from there he will be sent to Sudan. It is cruel to deport people in the middle of a pandemic. The Taoiseach agreed with this last week.

I thank the Deputy.

He said there would be no deportations. This very morning a man was deported from Dublin Airport.

I thank the Deputy. I am not familiar with that particular case so it is impossible for me to comment on it. The commitment that has been given is that there would not be deportations during the pandemic, particularly to zones where there is a high incidence of the virus. However, there was an exception that we said we would make, for example, if it was an issue of national security. I am not saying that this case is an issue of national security. I do not know anything about it but it was not a blanket commitment that there would not be any deportations in any circumstances. There would be circumstances where it would be necessary, especially if it is a matter of national security.