Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I commend the Minister for bringing the Bill before the House. This is a day which will largely go unnoticed, unfortunately, but it is the day on which we will effectively criminalise slavery in Ireland by defining "forced labour" and reinforcing it as a specific criminal offence. Like my colleague, Deputy Robert Dowds, I congratulate Migrant Rights Centre Ireland, Ms Denise Charlton, Ms Siobhán O'Donoghue, Ms Gráinne O'Toole and others who have worked so hard to bring the legislation to the House, with the assistance of the Minister. Some of the victims are in Leinster house today. They never lost faith in the Republic and engaged with the political system and are seeing their rights vindicated today.

Over 180 cases have been dealt with at the Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland, MRCI, over the last number of years. I remember that my first political election campaign came in the teeth of the citizenship referendum in 2004, when official Ireland did its very best to have a cloud of suspicion hanging over our newest and most vulnerable communities. We have come a long way since, and this Bill is part of the process, but the political system must show much more leadership across Ireland in dealing with our newest and most vulnerable communities.

How brave must a person be to land into a country after seeing civil rights and human dignity suppressed, with nowhere to go and no understanding of the language, and yet still have the opportunity to come to the House today to see legislation passed that will criminalise forced labour? A particularly brave person believes in the Republic and has the Republic believe in him or her. I commend the Minister on what he has done, and what we have achieved is very special.

We should focus on certain matters for victims of forced labour. If and when a criminal offence is proved to have taken place after criminal proceedings have concluded, there may be an issue regarding the lack of support and assistance being provided to victims. I hope the Minister will specifically address the issue when he makes his concluding remarks. I celebrate the fact that there is support for the Bill right across this House, but it is important for us to recognise that regardless of how vulnerable or disconnected a person feels, how many rights have been impinged or how lonely a person feels, there is always a group of decent, progressive people who will stand up for rights, using the system for the right end to vindicate those rights. The Migrant Rights Centre Ireland is the group in this case and I heartily congratulate it.

We cannot rest on our laurels and we must consider what the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland has pointed out in this Bill. It is a good day for the Republic but we must continue to assist those who have been proven to be victims of forced labour, and after criminal sanctions have been imposed, they must be given support to rebuild their lives as citizens of this Republic. That should be the next focus for the Minister, although I commend him and the Bill. I also commend those people who campaigned on the issue, and Deputy Dowds and I have been centrally involved in the matter. We must take stock of today's achievement.

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