Written question asked by David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party) on Monday, 24 April 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 26 April 2006. It was answered by Tony McNulty (Labour) on Friday, 12 May 2006 on behalf of the Home Office.

Illegal Residents (Northern Ireland)

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of how many people have been (a) residing illegally and (b) working illegally in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Answer: Although it is impossible to determine accurately how many people are in the UK illegally, the Home Office published a report which included an estimate of the size of the illegal migrant population in the UK in 2001. A copy of the RDS On-line report 29/05 Sizing the unauthorised (illegal) migrant population in the United Kingdom in 2001 can be found at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/notes/june_summaries.html#rdsolr2905. The method used relies on data from the Census undertaken every 10 years, so it is not possible to produce an estimate for other years. Nor is it possible, using this methodology, to estimate the number living in Northern Ireland. No estimate has been made of the number of people who have been working illegally in Northern Ireland.

Secondary information