The Government has deported 42 Brazilian nationals since June, including 15 people serving prison sentences, according to Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan.
In a statement on X, Mr O'Callaghan said: "Since June there have been 42 deportations of Brazilian nationals on commercial flights to Brazil.
"The people deported included 15 people serving prison sentences. None of the 42 had permission to be here."
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne programme, Mr O'Callaghan said 15 Brazilian people who were deported over the summer probably wouldn't have been released from prison had it not been for the fact they were been deported, adding that there is a benefit in this because it also frees up prison space.
"My understanding is that very many of them were coming near the end of their term, they were coming eligible for release, and they were sent back on that basis. They probably would not have been released had it not been for the fact that they were being deported."
He said further efforts to release people from prisons for deportation are under way but the decision for release would ultimately be made by the Irish Prison Service.
The service today said that it is operating "far beyond its limits".
Mr O'Callaghan stressed that he was not talking about people who are in the early stage of their sentence or those who are convicted of a very serious crime.
"It's certainly something we're working on. And again, it's motivated predominantly by the fact that these are people who do not have permission to be here. But as well as that, there are people who are in prisons from different countries, and it is preferable, in many instances, that they'd be sent back there.'
Mr O'Callaghan added that EU nationals can apply to have their sentence transferred to their home country.
"When you charter a flight you have to identify people from the same country," he explained, "so we decided to use commercial flights in this operation".
So far this year 2,713 deportation orders have been issued this year, Mr O'Callaghan said, and 1,386 have been removed.
The Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration said that 2,713 deportation orders were signed up to 29 August this year. This compares to a figure of 1,285 up to 30 August last year.
The Department said 1,386 people have departed from Ireland under various mechanisms up to 29 August via "forced return, voluntary return etc".
Speaking in June at the time, Mr O'Callaghan said those on the flight to Nigeria were served with a deportation order and did not comply with that, so a consequence was needed.
The minister had said such operations send out a clear message regarding the enforcement of rules for those with deportation orders, adding that the asylum system becomes meaningless if it is not enforced.
In February, 32 people were deported to Georgia on a chartered flight.
An Garda Síochána said the 28 men, three women and one child were deported and that the child was part of a family group (father, mother and child).
