Data from the Department of Justice shows 140 deportation orders were carried out last year — down from 428 deportations in 2016.

The number of people denied entry to Ireland has also fallen dramatically. Figures show that, for the top 10 nationalities, the number of refusals to ‘leave to land’ in 2017 stood at 1,148 — down from 3,951 the previous year.

The number of people refused entry in 2017 is likely to be the lowest in more than five years. The overall figure will be published shortly as part of the annual review by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service.

The Department of Justice said enforcement of deportation orders is an operational matter for the Garda National Immigration Bureau.

A deportation order requires the person concerned to remove themselves from the State; where they fail to do so, the State is forced to remove them.

Last week, Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan gave details of efforts to guard the border with the North against illegal entry.

He referred to Operation Sonnet, aimed at targeting, detecting, and preventing illegal immigration into this State via the Common Travel Area. Mr Flanagan said there were 91 detections in 2015, 27 detections in 2016, and a provisional figure of 22 detections last year.

Many more people seeking to enter the country over the border were stopped through eight specific ‘days of action’ spread across 2015, 2016, and 2017, as well as through routine Garda checkpoints.

Mr Flanagan said: “As a result of such detections, some 774 people were refused ‘leave to land’ along the land border with Northern Ireland during this period — 275 in 2015, 282 in 2016, and 217 in 2017. Of these, 20 people claimed asylum, while the remaining 754 were removed from the State.”

While the number of deportation orders carried out fell considerably last year, the number of voluntary returns for destitute EU13 Accession State Nationals remained consistent — 180 people were returned to their home country last year, including around 140 to Romania, compared with a figure for 187 for 2016.

As of last December, there had been 2,927 applications for declaration as a refugee here — the department has recently tendered for more capacity in the direct provision system.

A department spokesman said the number of deportation orders in any given year is not directly related to the rate of new applications for that year.

“The issue of a deportation order comes at the end of the protection determination process and completion of the legal requirements,” said the spokesman. “The person concerned is then obliged to remove themselves from the State and it is only after that that enforced removal falls to be considered.”

“With regards to persons who are the subject of deportation orders that continue to reside in direct provision, there can be a number of reasons why the State may not move against such individuals, such as other family members who are at an earlier stage in the process, or the deportation order is being challenged in court, etc.

“However, where there is no impediment to the person removing themselves, the person concerned is obliged to leave and the State is entitled to effect removal if they do not comply with the order.”