Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

Like many of my colleagues, I welcome the long-awaited publication of this important Bill. I share the sentiments of the Deputies who have said the legislation is welcome. Fine Gael will support the Bill on Second Stage because it is necessary if Ireland is to take action against human trafficking. The process of introducing this legislation has been quite protracted. However, the Bill does not go far enough in protecting and supporting the victims it should be helping. When examining and debating this issue, it is important that we consistently remind ourselves that the offence of human trafficking is committed against those who are trafficked, rather than by such people. They should not be seen as criminals in any way. The actions we take should be aimed at helping victims, just as they are in the case of any other criminal offence.

The trafficking of women and children is a rapidly growing worldwide phenomenon, sadly. It can be compared to the slavery industry of many years ago, which we are very quick to criticise nowadays. We are not as quick to recognise the form of the problem that is prevalent in today's society. The victims of human traffickers are vulnerable women who are offered a wonderful new life that is full of joy and promise. Rather than being helped with everyday matters like work, travel, safety and security, however, they are bought, sold, imprisoned, raped and tortured. The fear and oppression with which such women have to live causes them to get trapped in a cycle from which they cannot possibly escape. As previous speakers have acknowledged, human trafficking has become a global business, in effect. It has been described by Ruhama, the work of which has been rightly acknowledged and welcomed in the House, as the third most lucrative illegal activity, after arms and drugs trading. It is a multi-billion dollar industry.

While I welcome some aspects of the Bill before the House, I am concerned that it considers the issue of human trafficking almost exclusively from the perspective of law enforcement, or the perspective of the crime. The human rights of the victims of human trafficking are largely ignored in the legislation. I acknowledge and appreciate the comments of the Minister, Deputy Brian Lenihan, who has said he will introduce further legislation to deal with some of the matters to which I refer. However, it would have been more beneficial to deal with these issues in a holistic way in a single Bill. While I accept that prosecution, which is the focus of this Bill, is necessary, I am more concerned about preventing trafficking and protecting the vulnerable women and children who are being preyed on.

In its defence of its inaction in this area to date, the Government has focused on the lack of statistical information about how many people are affected by human trafficking, thereby failing to show a basic understanding of the complexity of the issue. It could be argued that the Government is responsible for collecting such information. The shortage of information is a consequence of the lack of legislation and the resultant failure of prosecutions. Members of this House have to grapple with the real difficulties which are caused by the under-reporting of many crimes against women, such as rape and domestic violence. As Deputy O'Rourke and others mentioned, under-reporting often results from fear, which itself is often a reflection of the power of the perpetrator and the lack of power of the victim.

I understand that the Minister referred earlier to some of the research that has been done in this area. I would like to highlight the research of Dr. Eilís Ward and Dr. Gillian Wylie, which is summarised in their report, The Nature and Extent of Trafficking Women into Ireland for the Purposes of Sexual Exploitation 2000-2006: a Report from Findings. Their analysis of trafficking cases between 2000 and 2006 found that the probable minimum number of cases in Ireland was 76, with the vast majority occurring between 2003 and 2006. The Ruhama women's project reported in 2003 that more and more women are being trafficked into Ireland, mostly from eastern Europe. The study done by Dr. Ward and Dr. Wylie confirms the prominence of eastern European women in these cases. It found that most trafficked women come from eastern Europe, with the second largest group coming from Africa. It reported that Nigerian women comprised the single biggest national grouping.

It has already been pointed out in this debate that there are conflicting statistics in this regard. I am not sure that is the point, however, because women and children who have been trafficked will take little comfort from knowing there are other people in the same situation. A document published by the US State Department last year, Trafficking in Persons Report June 2007, described Ireland as a country of transit and destination. The US report outlines some similar statistics to those I have mentioned. In June of this year, the Irish joint non-governmental group dealing with human trafficking stated that the US report seriously underestimates the extent of the phenomenon as it exists in this country today. The members of the group are working with the victims of this crime on a daily basis by gaining access to them, supporting them and trying to win their trust. It is difficult to collate information on human trafficking, which means the information we have is extremely valuable. The non-governmental group is filling a gap that the Government and this House have failed to fill over recent years. We have failed to take sufficient action on this issue, although I accept that other legislation is in the pipeline.

It is easy for the Irish people to ignore this crime because we tend to think it does not affect us. As our families and friends are not being trafficked, we cannot see the reality of the crime. It is easy to adopt an attitude of "out of sight, out of mind" or "ignorance is bliss". There is a lack of support for those who have been trafficked. The various interests involved in this area agree that the lack of human trafficking legislation, which the Government is addressing to some extent today, has allowed this problem to remain underground. The problem is made worse when one considers the lack of funding supports, the lack of policy direction, the State's concentration on the crime aspect of human trafficking and the lack of a co-ordinated and holistic approach. Some 36 of the 76 women who were clearly identified in the report published by Dr. Ward and Dr. Wylie subsequently disappeared, and their whereabouts and status is now described as "unknown".

Reports on child trafficking in this morning's news are even more frightening. While I accept there is no allegation of trafficking into or out or Ireland being linked to the 19 arrests yesterday, nonetheless, the statistic on children who have gone missing in this country is frightening; a total of 328 children cannot be traced. If this statistic related to 328 Irish children the public response and the response of the Government and this House would be far stronger and more immediate. It would be rightly considered a national scandal; either way it is a national scandal.

It seems that so long as these children are not our own children or those of our neighbours, this issue can be brushed under the carpet. What is worse and a greater cause for concern is that a few of these children — I do not have the exact figure — were supposed to be under the protection of the State and of the Health Service Executive when they went missing. This is an indictment of the system and of the failure to address these problems. While this Bill will go some way, it will not deal with the issue of such a number of children being missing. It is not known whether some of these children may have left the country so they are still classified as missing.

Ireland has signed up to a number of human rights instruments relating to this issue. I am disappointed that today's legislation does not incorporate these instruments into law in order to enhance the human rights of those affected. It is easy to sign up to these instruments but the real test is to put them into practice.

Ireland has signed up to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. I acknowledge this legislation will go some way towards meeting some of the articles in that convention in terms of exploitation and trafficking. However, the purpose of Article 39 is to secure both the physical and psychological recovery of victims and to try to reintegrate them but I do not believe this will be achieved by this legislation.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, expressed concern in 2005 about the trafficking of women and girls in Ireland. The convention commented on the lack of information on the extent of the problem, the lack of specific legislation in this area and the lack of a comprehensive strategy to combat the problem. The Government has addressed some of those concerns in this Bill, in particular with regard to prosecution and punishment of offenders. However, the recommendation that "measures be put in place to provide for the physical, psychological and social recovery of women and girls who have been victims of trafficking, including the provision of shelter, counselling and medical care", has largely been ignored.

Another important aspect of the recommendations is that border police and law enforcement officials be provided with the requisite skills to recognise and provide support to victims of trafficking. This is an important point.

The Irish Human Rights Commission is to be commended on its work in this area. In July 2007 the commission held a conference on this issue. The conference made clear that the Garda Síochána must be equipped "with clear and practical laws, resources and most importantly receive comprehensive training informed by the experiences of police in other jurisdictions and by groups working with victims of trafficking in Ireland". This is a relatively new phenomenon in Ireland over the past decade and while specialist gardaí will have the skills to deal with it, many will not. I appreciate that some of these specialists are involved in Operation Pentameter II but it is vital that gardaí are trained to recognise this problem and to see it from the perspective of not only prosecuting the perpetrator but also assisting the victims.

It is acknowledged that trafficking is not the easiest of crimes to identify. The NGOs and those working in the area cannot be expected to be the only ones helping these terrified victims to come forward. The Garda Síochána must also play a role in this regard.

I quote the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights who recommended that as the very first principle, "The human rights of trafficked persons shall be at the centre of all efforts to prevent and combat trafficking and to protect, assist and provide redress to victims". I have already stressed the need for a victim-centred approach, but the matter deserves further detail. We only help a person to a limited extent without the full holistic range of measures. The word of one victim who has had a bad experience in our criminal justice system will stop many others from coming forward.

I welcome the Minister's measures in terms of anonymity and the taking of evidence by means of electronic link. These are important measures which will help to address some, but not all, of the safety issues which concern victims. However, while victims fear the perpetrator, they also fear the State, or any state into which they have been trafficked. The risk of coming forward includes not only fear of reprisal from the perpetrator but fear of removal from the State. I am not going to pretend this is an easy issue to tackle and I appreciate the Minister's legitimate concerns about the exploitation of loopholes. However, I ask the Minister to consider the concerns about the exploitation of women and children. In her paper to the Irish Human Rights Commission conference, commissioner Suzanne Egan addressed some of these difficulties and outlined some obligations under the convention. These include obligations to provide appropriate and secure accommodation, psychological and material assistance, access to emergency medical treatment, translation and interpretative services, counselling and information, and access to education for their children. States must take measures to ensure that assistance to a victim is not made conditional on his or her willingness to act as a witness. Ireland has yet to formally ratify this convention but the argument is well made that Ireland nonetheless has obligations under other international instruments which it has adopted.

The Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Haughey, will be aware of the Australian automatic humanitarian visa system, which came about due to the tragic death of a young woman in a detention centre in 2003. Those victims of trafficking in Ireland are subject to deportation, despite the fact that the UNHCR has launched guidelines that trafficking amounts to persecution. Only this month a report highlighted the case of a trafficked woman being picked up by gardaí and sent to Mountjoy Prison. Where is the humanity in that? Temporary residence is not too much to grant people who have already suffered so much. It must be borne in mind that the offence is being committed against the trafficked person.

It is important to consider the connection between prostitution and human trafficking and what is, effectively, organised crime. The growth of a highly profitable sex industry which has been legalised in many countries other than Ireland, has led to women and children becoming a commodity. It is argued that trafficking for sexual purposes will never be eliminated unless the international community also takes a vigorous stand against prostitution and sexual exploitation. In a 2005 report, Poulin referred to the Netherlands as an example of the link between the growth of the sex industry and the growth of trafficking for the purpose of prostitution and the statistics are outlined. There are some contradictions in Irish law where the focus has been on controlling, containing and concealing the sale of sex. We criminalise the public offer of sex for sale but not the private offer by a single woman. We penalise those working as prostitutes but not their customers.

The Swedish model should be considered. The Swedish Government made a decision in 1999 that those creating the demand, such as the traffickers, pimps and customers, should bear the brunt of responsibility for this industry. In implementing these reforms the Government was aware that the political, social and economic conditions under which women and children live must be transformed by developments in the area of poverty reduction and social programmes aimed exclusively at women. The Swedish legislation prohibits the purchase of sexual services. A person who obtains casual sexual relations in exchange for payment shall be guilty of an offence and the attempted purchase of sexual services is also punishable. The offence comprises all forms of sexual services, whether purchased on the street, in brothels, in massage parlours, from escort services or other similar circumstances. A person who promotes or encourages or improperly exploits, for commercial purposes, casual sexual relations entered into by another person in exchange for payment, is guilty of an offence. If the offence is aggravated the punishment is increased. The promotion may take various forms, such as operating a brothel, letting premises for the purposes of prostitution or helping a buyer find prostituted persons.

The Swedish Government has reported that since the Act came into force, there has been a dramatic drop in the number of women in street prostitution. Along with the recruitment of women into prostitution, criminalisation of the buyer has also seen a drop in the number of men who buy sexual services. Since the introduction of the new regime in 1999, the number of women involved in street prostitution in Sweden has decreased by at least 30% down to 50% and the recruitment of new women has almost stopped. This begs the question whether this legislation has driven the industry underground. There is no evidence that the sale of women has moved from the streets to the Internet. It is reported that the number of Swedish women who are prostituted by means of the Internet remains stable.

Strangely, this matter falls under the remit of the Ministry with responsibility for industry which also reports that public support for legislation is growing. As the primary purpose of the law is to prevent the purchase of sexual services, often the police intervene before the offence is committed. Statistics which relate to the arrest and prosecution of perpetrators are not always good indicators of how well the new laws work. Swedish women's movements and groups that work with prostituted women have reported that the new laws have acted as an incentive to prostituted women to leave prostitution. The laws further act as a deterrent to young women who have not yet entered prostitution but are runaways or soft drug abusers.

I welcome the legislation but it has missed many points. I urge the Government to begin immediately a process of bringing into law those conventions to which the State signed up. This will ensure women and children are adequately protected. I also urge the Government to provide far greater supports and funding for groups dealing with this issue because they are the best people to help. I look forward to the next Bill the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Brian Lenihan, will introduce in this area but it would have been better to have had one Bill covering the entire issue.

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