Ms Patricia Stapleton:

The trafficking legislation is very narrow. Only three elements are needed to prove trafficking. Some of the women we have met who have worked in on-street prostitution appear to have quite a lot of autonomy. However, we know that many of the women are from one particular country and one particular area, and how long they have been in the country is indicative of their autonomy.

Some of the women appear to have little or no English and we are very worried about them, as they are particularly vulnerable.

In respect of the line being blurred, we meet some women who have been exploited horribly and had very negative experiences but who nevertheless do not satisfy the criteria to meet the trafficking definition. The definition of trafficking must be broadened at some point to reflect the complexity of what drives people to migrate. We have met women who have been exploited for seven years in Limerick who would not consider themselves to be trafficked persons. They support families and travel back and forth, but the fact remains that they are exploited and must hand over some of their wages. Some of the women who come to Ireland do so to repay a debt by agreement between their families and the traffickers. That to me is trafficking, yet it is not defined as such because the women can travel and have freedom of movement. It is, therefore, a tricky and nebulous matter.