David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome publication of the Bill and commend the efforts being made by the Minister, the Department of Justice and Equality, the Garda Síochána and others to combat the evil of human trafficking. We cannot be complacent about this problem and have to be vigilant at all times. Other speakers have mentioned the report launched yesterday by the joint committee that was asked by the Minister to review the legislation on prostitution. As Deputies have said, a number of far-ranging recommendations are made in the report. When the members of the committee listened to those who shared their expertise on these issues, we were struck by the links between prostitution, sexual exploitation and trafficking.

The Bill before the House - Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) (Amendment) Bill 2013 - is another example of legislation being introduced to amend existing Acts. It can be difficult to keep track of what is going on. The Law Reform Commission which has done a great deal of work to restate and revise various Acts mentions on its website that the "Freedom of Information Act 1997 has been amended by more than 47 Acts since 1997, and it is therefore important to have available an up-to-date version that incorporates all amendments to the 1997 Act". It also points out that the "Statute Law (Restatement) Act 2002 provides that the Attorney General may certify the text of a restatement, which allows it to be used as prima facie evidence of the law in question". I urge the Minister and all Departments to consider this. The cost of accessing legislation can be significant for businesses, the economy and legislators. It is extraordinarily difficult to go through a great deal of amending legislation to understand what the current position is. I ask the Minister to examine the work done by the Law Reform Commission. I understand the commission's second programme of restatement involved 12 groups of Acts, with an additional three groups to be added, if time allows. The amount of time needed to research the body of legislation in place is daunting, as is the cost to the economy of such work. Would it be possible for us to consolidate legislation as we go along?

I will return to the amending legislation we are dealing with. The introduction of the Criminal Justice (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 made it an offence to purchase sex from an identified victim of trafficking. However, buyers of sex can only be held accountable when they knowingly purchase sex from a trafficked person. According to section 5(4) of the Criminal Justice (Human Trafficking) Act 2008, buyers cannot be held accountable if they claim they were not aware that they were purchasing sex from a person who qualified as a victim of human trafficking. In effect, this lets the purchaser off the hook. As far as I know, there have been no prosecutions to date for purchasing sex from a victim of trafficking. Studies have shown that although men are aware of the potentially coerced or trafficked status of the women from whom they buy sex, this does not affect their decision to purchase sex from them. Therefore, it is clear that any criminalisation of the purchase of sex would require reforms to the current legislation on trafficking. It has been suggested any new legislation in this regard should be modelled on the UK Policing and Crime Act 2009 which makes the purchase of sex from a controlled individual illegal, even if the purchaser does not know the individual was controlled. This would bring Ireland's trafficking legislation further into line with international instruments in the tackling of human trafficking, especially for the purposes of prostitution.

I argue, in the context of the report launched yesterday and the legislation we are considering, that changes involving the criminalisation of prostitution must have a victim-centred approach that treats trafficking as a human rights issue rather than as an immigration issue. I know a great deal of work is taking place in the context of the forthcoming immigration Bill which we hope will be published as soon as possible. We have to take great care to focus on the complex needs of the victim of trafficking in the aftermath of trafficking and exploitation, as opposed to focusing on the person’s immigration status. It has been argued that "the over-reliance on the immigration system to detect victims of trafficking and the fact that most victims are forced to make their own escape from traffickers if they are to access help, results in a relatively low number of victims receiving assistance in Ireland". It could be argued that we really do not know what is happening. We are getting anecdotal evidence that there is a serious problem, but we really do not know what is going on. I argue that one or two gardaí in every Garda division or district should be specially trained in order that they have expertise in the area of trafficking. They should have the skills to look out for it, follow up on reports, investigate and inquire.

Despite the positive efforts of the anti-human trafficking unit and the non-governmental organisations working in this area, very few victims of trafficking are identified and supported each year. When they are identified, they often believe they have to co-operate in criminal investigations under risk of criminal sanction or deportation. We need to look at what we are being told in this regard. The support and assistance given to victims should not be contingent on co-operation with the authorities in criminal investigations. Equally, their long-term residency status should not depend on such co-operation. There is some work to be done to change the mindset in this regard. Victims of trafficking should not be detained or imprisoned as a result of immigration violations or criminal activities relating to prostitution. They should be identified as being trafficked and given the appropriate protections and supports. We are moving in that direction, but we need to do more. I will not say much more about this matter.

I commend the Minister for bringing forward this legislation and all the work he is doing in this general area. I thank him for all the legislation he is sending to the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality and all the other work he is asking us to do. He is certainly keeping us on our toes. We welcome the opportunity to engage and work positively with him and his officials on this legislation and other issues.

See this speech in context