The numbers of undocumented Irish people being deported from America have risen again over the past 12 months.

A total of 117 people were deported in the year to September 2009, up from 94 the previous year.

In addition, some 456 people were denied entry to the U.S. in the same 12-month period.

The highest monthly figure came in June when 21 people were deported. Fourteen people were deported in April and 12 in July.

The figures, from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office, also show that Ireland is now in the top 25 percent of countries whose citizens are deported from the U.S.

Ireland is now number 53 out of 220 countries, up from 67 the year previous.

ICE told the Examiner newspaper in Ireland that they could not say if the increase was related to an increase in the amount of Irish people working illegally in the U.S.

Meanwhile, the total numbers of Irish people visiting the U.S. have plunged by some 28 percent with just 427,650 people this year against 596,828 last year.