Mr. Brian Killoran:

In terms of the process of identification, in the cases that come to the Immigrant Council of Ireland, identification can often take up to two years. As a law centre, we sometimes take judicial review cases in respect of this complicated and long processing time for being identified as a victim of trafficking, which involves civil authorities, the Garda National Protective Services Bureau, and the Garda National Immigration Bureau. The process often breaks down in that time. A much clearer identification process for victims of trafficking that does not involve so many different bodies is needed. This would allow for the quick identification of a victim of trafficking. If somebody gets to the stage of getting a temporary residence permit, once they are identified as a victim of trafficking, they get a stamp 4, which is a residency status in the State that allows access to support services. That is taking a long time to happen but should it happen, that person could in theory then leave direct provision and live independently as they would be able to be supported.

In our cases, then, it is a question of a mix of resources but also a clearer identification process for victims of trafficking who are living in that system. I speak primarily to our area of expertise but internationally there are many models for housing victims of trafficking which take a gender-based violence approach. They rely upon women's refuges and other support services to provide accommodation, both in an emergency capacity at the initial instance of somebody being identified and in the long term through the model of approved housing bodies or voluntary housing associations, which rent private accommodation and house victims of trafficking. That is difficult to do in the current context here regarding housing. The housing bodies themselves are in difficult circumstances. The refuges are oversubscribed as it is. It would take additional resources for this to be a realised model of accommodation for supporting victims of trafficking coming from situations of sexual exploitation. However, that needs to be the goal to which we work and the guiding light by which we aim our approaches. As I said in my opening remarks, the housing of victims of trafficking within direct provision systems often adds to the trauma and continued difficulty of their recovering from the situation they have just come out of. While we recognise the context we are in, that needs to be the gold standard to which we aspire.