Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is an issue that we are constantly looking at.

One of the difficulties in this area is when there has been Garda involvement. I am focusing on the prostitution area where the suggestion is the women have been trafficked for prostitution. Where that allegation has been made, we have had occasions when women who have made that allegation and who indicated they would co-operate with the Garda, have 24 hours later simply disappeared and left the country, not in circumstances where they are required to be in the company of others because we have a system to provide them with accommodation and refuge which allows them stay here to co-operate with the Garda. One of the difficulties in the area of prostitution in this country in the context of human trafficking is there has been little by way of prosecution. While there is considerable concern in this area and there is a section within the Department that focuses on this, the Garda is conscious of this area, and we are currently reviewing our approaches in the light of international reports. The bringing of prosecutions is extremely difficult because on occasions women who allege they have been trafficked simply do not co-operate and choose to leave the country.