Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to speak on this very important legislation. I warmly welcome the Criminal Justice (Human Trafficking) (Amendment) Bill 2013 and will be supporting it. We all have a duty to act and fight the gross exploitation of people. This Bill will protect people from human trafficking in Ireland and across the European Union.

The Criminal Justice (Human Trafficking) (Amendment) Bill 2013 deals primarily with trafficking for labour exploitation. On the 100th anniversary of the 1913 Lock-out, it is sensible and reasonable to always challenge exploitation. The term “criminal” is rightly in the legislation because what happens to the victims of trafficking is criminal exploitation at its worst. There can be no halfway house on this matter or turning a blind eye like what happens in other states. Our own history is one if fighting exploitation and dealing with injustice head on.

The Bill further defines the meaning of exploitation and trafficking for labour exploitation in Irish law. It explicitly criminalises trafficking for criminal activities and in order to force someone to beg. In cases where a public official is convicted of certain trafficking offences the courts will be obliged to use this as an aggravating factor when passing sentence.

While we are debating this issue, it is important to include it in the broader debate on human rights and racism in society. We must all be vigilant against racism. It is important that the Department of Justice and Equality constantly monitors this issue because racist views have been emerging again in society. In a recent poll, 20% of people expressed racist views which concerns me. When matters get bad in an economy, people blame immigrants for issues that have absolutely nothing to do with him. There is a political vacuum for far-right groups to move into. Regardless of party politics, we should not tolerate racism. Even if it is not popular with some elements, we have to be strong against it and sectarianism. If we are not, then there is no point in discussing human rights in this Chamber. All Members and political parties must show leadership on this issue.

Trafficking in persons for the purposes of sexual or labour exploitation is outlawed in Ireland through the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008. The principal Act criminalised forced labour but did not fully define it. The new definition is based on the International Labour Organisation definition of forced labour, “All work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the person has not offered himself voluntarily”. This strengthens the existing legislation.

The Bill also provides that public officials who are found guilty of certain trafficking offences in the course of their public duties will face harsher sentences than private individuals convicted of the same offences. I welcome this provision because it is unacceptable for public officials to be involved in such activity.

Yesterday, the justice committee released a report on the purchase of sexual services. I commend the committee chairman, Deputy Stanton, and membership on their work in this area. The report proposes increased penalties for trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation; increased penalties for organising or living off the earnings of prostitution; an offence of recklessly permitting a premises to be used for the purposes of prostitution; the regulation and inspection of premises advertised as massage parlours so as to eliminate those used for prostitution; witnesses in cases dealing with sexual exploitation through prostitution or trafficking to give evidence anonymously; an offence of grooming a child or vulnerable person for the purpose of sexual abuse or exploitation; power for an Garda Síochána to disable any telephone number in use in the State that is suspected on reasonable grounds of being used for the purposes of prostitution. Will the Minister examine these recommendations with a view to legislating for them and not mind the odd whingebag in the Seanad who came out against it?

The EU reports that 23,632 people were identified as trafficking or presumed victims of trafficking in the EU between 2008 and 2010. Roughly a quarter of these victims were trafficked for the purpose of labour exploitation. In Ireland, 11 cases of labour trafficking were reported to the authorities in 2011. The EU calculated the number of identified and presumed trafficking victims per 100,000 inhabitants for each EU country. It is calculated Ireland has an incidence of 1.7 victims per 100,000 inhabitants while the EU total is calculated at two victims per 100,000 inhabitants.

Generally, trafficking for labour exploitation is not as prevalent as trafficking for sexual exploitation. Victims of trafficking for labour exploitation may be forced to do agricultural work, work in commercial kitchens or in private homes. Different reports present information differently, for example forced begging may or may not be counted as a separate category and trafficking for criminal activities may not be separated out from other forms of trafficking. The extent of trafficking in a country is generally measured by the number of trafficking victims or potential victims identified; the number of cases reported to the authorities or organisations; the number of trafficking cases being investigated by the police; the number of court cases and convictions for trafficking.

The 2010 report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime stated that worldwide 79% of identified victims of human trafficking were subject to sexual exploitation, 18% were subject to forced labour while 3% were subject to other forms of exploitation. That is why we must not just support this Bill but be vigilant in its implementation. The International Labour Organisation estimated in 2012 that there were an estimated 880,000 victims of forced labour in the EU. That is some figure in a Union that prides itself on respect for its citizens and human rights. According to the International Labour Organisation about 40% of trafficking takes place for forced commercial sexual exploitation, about one third for other forms of forced economic exploitation and a quarter for a mixture of the above or for undetermined reasons.

The European Union must wake up to this issue in the broader debate.

The European Commission has produced a number of very good reports, at which we should look very closely. It identified particular figures from 2008 to 2010, when a total of 23,632 people were identified as victims of trafficking in the European Union. The total number of identified presumed victims was 6,000 in 2008, 7,795 in 2009 and 9,528 in 2010. The reason I mention these figures is that over these three years there was an increase of 6% per year, with an overall increase of 18% over three years, but the statistics also show that fewer traffickers ended up behind bars. The number of convictions decreased by 13% over the period from 2008 to 2010. We must deal with this issue because traffickers are getting away or escaping the system. The level of exploitation is amazing. It is like an undercurrent in broader society. Only six of the 27 EU member states have fully transposed the EU anti-trafficking directive in their national legislation. The deadline for doing this was 6 April 2013. Therefore, we need to get on with this task and identify the issues involved. The legislation is before us and we should support it and have no more talks about talks.

Gender specific information from 21 member states shows that between 2008 and 2010 women and girls were the main victims of trafficking in human beings, accounting for 79% of the total. Of this 79%, 12% were young girls. We should think about the legislation going through the Dáil on exploitation. Male victims accounted for 21%, with 3% being boys. Most member states reported that most victims came from within the European Union itself. Many were under the impression that most victims were from outside the European Union. It is important that we work very closely with these countries, NGOs and human rights groups on this issue.

We have started the process and I welcome the Bill. An anti-human trafficking unit was established in the Department of Justice and Equality in February 2008 and works to ensure the Irish response to trafficking in human beings is co-ordinated and comprehensive. We also had the key element of the national action plan to prevent and combat the trafficking of human beings in Ireland which ran from 2009 to 2012. There are other dedicated trafficking units in other State agencies. The Garda National Immigration Bureau has an anti-human trafficking team, as do the HSE and the Legal Aid Board. We have systems in place and legislation is before us. It is important that we support the legislation and implement it comprehensively. We have seen what happens to people who have been exploited and hammered in recent years. This is an opportunity to support them. The Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) (Amendment) Bill is sensible legislation and about protecting human dignity, civil liberties and human rights.

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