A total of 465 Irish people have been deported from the United States in the past eight years, with more than two-thirds of these sent home specifically because of immigration violations, figures released by the Department of Foreign Affairs reveal.

They also show that the number of Irish people deported from the US specifically for immigration offences more than tripled last year compared to numbers for the year 2000.

The figures come as Taoiseach Brian Cowen returns from his St Patrick's Day visit to the White House and meetings with US president Barack Obama, during which time he is understood to have raised the issue of some 50,000 undocumented Irish living in the US.

Reflecting a general increase in deportations by the US authorities last year, the figures reveal that 66 Irish people were sent home from the US in 2008, up from 42 the previous year.

By far the largest single category of Irish deportees – 48 – were sent home for immigration violations during 2008. The remainder were deported as a result of criminal behaviour, according to the US authorities.

Overall, 465 Irish people were sent home from the US between 2000 and 2008; 318 of these were deported for non-criminal (immigration-related) reasons.

The figures were supplied to the Department of Foreign Affairs by the US Department of Homeland Security. They are contained in a recent written reply to a Dáil question by foreign affairs minister Micheál Martin, which was released in advance of last week's St Patrick's Day cele­brations.

Last year's figure of 48 immigration-related deportations is second only to 2003, when 52 Irish people were sent home for this reason, and compares to just 14 such deportations in 2000.

Similarly, last year's overall figure of 66 deportations compares to a total of 42 deportations of Irish people in 2007 (17 of which were for criminal reasons), 39 in 2006 (12 for criminal reasons) and 43 in 2005 (12 for criminal reasons).

However, the total number of deportations reached a high of 69 in 2003.

The highest single number of criminal-related deportations was in 2004, when 24 Irish people were sent home for this reason.

The minister said the government attaches the "highest importance to resolving the plight of our undocumented citizens in the United States", but suggested that the figures showed that the numbers of undocumented Irish being detained and deported have not increased significantly in recent years. However, he said the anxiety and stress which deportation causes "is very real".

Martin said: "There is no evidence of undocumented Irish citizens… being targeted by the US authorities. Our ambassador in Washington has raised the issue of detentions with senior officials at the state department and the embassy and consulates provide consular assistance and support to all Irish citizens, including those threatened with or awaiting deportation."