Deirdre Clune (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I am delighted this Bill has come before the Dáil. Trafficking is a global issue, compared by many to the slave trade. It is an indictment on us all that 200 years after the abolition of the slave trade the trafficking of humans takes place under our noses in cities and towns throughout Europe. Like dealing in drugs and arms, the trafficking of humans is very lucrative and attracts the interest of criminals whose sole purpose is to abuse vulnerable people, most of who find themselves trafficked into the sex industry. Others are trafficked for labour purposes and some for the supply of human organs, which is shocking.

It is estimated that between 700,000 and 4 million women and children are moved across international borders each year. The US estimates that 80% of those trafficked are women and girls and that 50% of them are children and that the bulk of these are forced into prostitution. The trafficking of humans is a growing problem in Europe, where an estimated 100,000 are trafficked each year. The UK estimated that 330 children were trafficked into it in 2004. These are only the figures we can identify, but most people acknowledge they are only the tip of the iceberg.

I welcome the Bill because for too long now the profits raised from human trafficking outweigh the punishment. I hope the result of this legislation will be to force those involved in this sordid business to consider whether the reward is worth the risk. Crime lords do not know borders and humans to them are no different to drugs, just a different product. Often the return is greater. Human trafficking is a lucrative enterprise, the estimated returns from which were €6.5 million last year.

A few weeks ago the Dáil debated the Government's decision to opt out of the EU attempt to set up criminal structures. I said at the time that our opt-out was a retrograde step, particularly in light of the trafficking issue where we must try to deal with criminals who move people from Asia, Africa and Europe across European borders. We need full co-operation in dealing with criminals at police and justice level. I hope we will not come to regret the Government's decision to opt-out of those measures in the new treaty.

We have had calls for this legislation for some time and it is welcome. Ireland is the last European Union country to introduce it. Trafficking has been termed the most serious human rights issue of this world and I am delighted we are finally tackling it and standing up and being counted in that regard. The Government has been embarrassed by media focus on the discovery of human trafficking rings across Europe and has delayed on the issue for a long time. The UN's human trafficking rapporteur, Ms Sigma Huda, criticised Ireland's lack of legislation for the area last January.

I do not agree with the statement by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform that human trafficking is a small, but growing, problem here. Much of the evidence from the media and organisations such as Ruhama, which works with people involved in prostitution, refutes this. Ruhama reported that up to end-2006, it was aware of 200 women who had been trafficked into Ireland for the purpose of prostitution and had assisted 132 of these women. Some 73% of the women came originally from eastern Europe, 21% from Africa, some from South America and 2% from Asia. Ruhama also reported assisting a further 22 cases in 2005 and another 18 in 2006. It is aware of trafficking of women for involvement in an illegal sex industry.

Ruhama was recently to the fore in participation in the EU anti-trafficking day on 18 October, where it launched an important awareness campaign which is much needed for the victims of this serious crime. Female victims of trafficking who are involved in prostitution find it difficult to make contact with anybody who could help them, whether for welfare purposes or through the Garda Síochána. I am delighted to see that the Garda Síochána is involved in offering support to Ruhama. It makes sense for Ruhama to work with gardaí throughout the country. The awareness campaign is important and I hope it will reach many vulnerable people who find themselves in a difficult situation. We cannot repeat often enough how important it is to give people such a lifeline, which can provide the hope of being rescued from their appalling situation.

Ruhama works with the Garda Síochána on its training courses, helping gardaí to recognise victims of trafficking. Such co-operation ensures that victims will obtain the necessary support and services that should be available to them. The director of Ruhama, Kathleen Fahy, has said we must face up to the fact that women are being trafficked into this country for the purposes of prostitution and it is necessary to have legislation to deal with this horrendous crime. That is exactly what we are doing here today, facing up to the fact and introducing legislation to address that crime.

Human trafficking is well organised, subtle and brutal and can be very cruel. In 2005, 25% of the victims that Ruhama assisted were from outside Dublin. That figure rose to 40% in 2006. This year, none of the 16 victims Ruhama has assisted was from outside Dublin. Overall, however, the figures show that victims of trafficking who are forced into prostitution are in small towns the length and breadth of the country.

Most of those who are trafficked end up working as prostitutes in brothels. There are some horrific stories of people shackled to beds and being abused as victims of sex crimes. Most of the criminal activity in our towns and cities is related to drugs and every middle-class dinner party at which cocaine is used is feeding into that situation. In addition, those who use the sex industry are also guilty.

In recent weeks, it was reported that a Russian woman who came here surrendered her passport and was confined to a small apartment in Dublin. It was reported that she lodged €10,000 per week on behalf of her overlords. That is the kind of money we are talking about, yet the woman only received €70 for her efforts. Such activity is going on all over the country. People are paying money for sex and they know the girls or women involved have been trafficked. Prostitution is illegal but those who avail of the sex industry are facilitating the illegal trafficking of victims of this appalling crime.

The NUI Galway study, referred to by Deputy Michael D. Higgins, claims that many women were trafficked into Ireland for the purposes of sexual exploitation between 2000 and 2006. The research project was carried out over two years, surveying agencies and organisations working in the area of prostitution. The report highlighted that 76 women were trafficked over that period. Apart from the evidence that people are being trafficked here, Ireland is also being used as a gateway to the United Kingdom. A recent BBC programme interviewed a trafficker who said he had used the port of Rosslare to bring such people into the UK. As an island nation, which in many cases is a gateway to Europe, we have a responsibility to individuals who find themselves being trafficked here for the appalling crime of prostitution.

In his speech, the Minister said it was his intention to put in place a framework whereby a victim of trafficking would be afforded a period of recovery and reflection. In addition, if victims so wish, they can participate in subsequent criminal proceedings. I was disappointed that the Minister referred to a framework and that he is not examining this Bill with a view to ensuring that victims are viewed in a more compassionate light. As a nation, we must all bear responsibility for ensuring that victims are not criminalised. I do not think that is the Minister's intention, but nonetheless there were reports of gardaí finding a woman in Sligo who was a victim of trafficking involved in prostitution and she ended up in Mountjoy jail. That is certainly not a solution to the problem.

At present, there is an ad hoc approach involving NGOs, the Garda Síochána and the Garda National Immigration Bureau. Each case is worked on individually and there is no co-ordinated response to assist victims. There have been reports of victims being returned to their own countries without any form of rehabilitation or assistance in coming to terms with the horrendous crimes to which they have been subjected. I am thinking of the girl who was found in Dublin shackled to a bed with cigarette burns all over her body. She was used for sex and was certainly in no fit state to be sent back to her country. She needed the support of this State. I think people here do not want to see such people classified as illegal immigrants or dealt with under immigration laws. They must be seen as victims and we have a duty to support and rehabilitate them. They should be provided with all the necessary medical, psychological and social welfare assistance the State can offer to ensure that they can rebuild their lives. Many such victims, who may have been kidnapped and sold or traded illegally, cannot return to their country of origin.

Ireland has signed up to European Council Directive 2004/81/EC on granting temporary residence permits to victims of trafficking so we have an obligation in this regard. The purpose of the directive was to give victims time to get support and recover before returning home. Ireland has also signed up to international conventions which state that victims need protection and support. They should be classified as victims, rather than being dealt with as an immigration problem. This legislation does not adequately address the need to support victims but rather classifies them as immigrants. We need to regard them as victims and recognise that they have had some horrendous experiences and offer them support. This is one of the flaws in the legislation which Deputy Naughten will consider in the detailed analysis of the Bill on Committee Stage.

I welcome the Bill on this issue about which we have heard and read in the media. The absence of legislation on human trafficking has been a matter of deep concern to us all. The world is changing but it is frightening to think that 200 years after the abolition of slavery people are treated as sub-human often under our noses in this city and in towns around the country. While the Bill is welcome we must consider the victims rather than those who are classified as illegal immigrants.

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