Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been (a) prosecuted and (b) removed for entering the UK illegally via the Ireland and Northern Ireland land border in each of the past five years.

A)

2017- 3

2018 - 5

2019 - 32

2020 - 2

2021 -15

2022 - 2

B) We do not hold the data to the level of granularity required and therefore it would be cost-prohibitive to supply it. Data on returns activity is published quarterly and the latest figures can be found at How many people are detained or returned? - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Returns information is not published to a level of detail that enables identification of method of entry; and this could only be provided at disproportionate cost.