Frank Feighan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)

I welcome the publication of the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Bill and congratulate Ruhama, the only group dealing with prostitution here. It made significant inroads into our perception and knowledge of prostitution and human trafficking which most people assumed did not exist. Ruhama made a presentation to a committee which shocked me and many other Deputies. I also pay tribute to the former Deputy Monica Barnes from my party who many years ago was one of the first Deputies to highlight the growing area of prostitution and to say that many involved were not there of their own free will and had no control over many issues. I acknowledge too the work of the former Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Michael McDowell, who almost brought the Bill to fruition. Legislation has already been passed in this area including the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act 2000 and the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998.

I wish my constituency colleague, Deputy Naughten, well in his challenging brief of immigration and integration. He has the enthusiasm and ability to address serious problems such as this one.

The Bill started with the title "criminal justice (trafficking in persons and sexual offences)" but because of the pressure on the Parliamentary Counsel's office in the run up to the general election there was a long delay in drafting the Bill. Had the subject matter not been split there would not have been a Bill until the end of this year. Given the urgent need to legislate for human trafficking offences a delay would have been unacceptable. Sometimes we put important Bills on the back burner which was unfortunate on this occasion. Can we not find more resources to deal with these urgent cases?

The splitting of the Bill is welcome. This Bill deals with the criminal law while immigration issues will be included in the immigration, residency and protection Bill which will provide protection for victims of trafficking and services for them while they remain in the country. Section 13 makes technical amendments to the Sex Offenders Act 2001, two of which provide for the smoother operation of that Act. A failure to comply with the sex offenders register will be an arrestable offence and probation and welfare officers will be able to prosecute persons for any breach of the conditions attaching to an order for post-release supervision of sex offenders, which is welcome.

Human trafficking is a modern form of slavery and is the third largest source of income for organised criminals. Given the secret nature of the crime we do not know the extent of the trafficking. We rely on statistics but have no idea of its extent because the people involved are the only source of information. The Garda has a significant role to play in this respect but its resources are stretched in dealing with gun and drug crime. For example, in my town last weekend the gardaí had to deal with many incidents. The Minister of State might be able to tell us whether the Garda has the resources to deal with this crime.

Some 100,000 people are trafficked into Europe every year and forced to work as prostitutes. This is a serious and deplorable situation. We all need local information. Our society was rural and local up to ten or 15 years ago when people knew what their neighbours were doing, what anyone who went to Dublin did, with whom they went and so on. While we may not want to hark back to those times we seem to have conveniently become very insular and pay no heed to others, saying this is not our problem. If someone sees a young boy or girl hanging around a hotel lobby and thinks there is something wrong he or she should ring the Garda. We should probe deeper into these matters. People in these communities get involved in football and basketball clubs, or various societies. People from eastern Europe, especially Poland, are involved in the church. There is a fine line between being interested and nosey but if we hear of, or think there is, something wrong we should call the Garda or the social services. Teachers may know things about their pupils or the brothers and sisters of pupils.

We are talking here about the second oldest profession in the world. There are customers. If they felt that something was not quite right, should there not be some kind of whistleblower's law? They could call the Garda Síochána and express their concerns, but would they be then prosecuted? I just do not know and I hope the Minister of State can answer these questions.

We can talk all we want in this Chamber and that will go into the record, but it will not go any further until we become more open about this. We must have a publicity campaign, but there are Irish people who are equally guilty because years ago it was brushed under the carpet, to be dealt with by the agencies. No agency or law can deal with this and we need further information.

Ruhama is an Irish non-profit organisation involved in providing outreach services to women engaged in prostitution. It certainly operates from a form of empathy, respect and compassion. Ruhama reported that up until 2006, it was aware of 200 women who had been trafficked into Ireland for the purposes of prostitution, 132 of whom were assisted by the organisation. Of that group, 73% were originally from eastern Europe, 21% from Africa, 4% from South America and 2% from Asia. There were 23 cases of assistance to trafficked women in 2005 and 18 cases in 2006. We should show our appreciation to those volunteers who do great work for Ruhama. This organisation has got State funding in the past, but it should get very generous financial assistance as it is doing the work on which the State often turns its back. However, I accept that something is being done. Ms Kathleen Fahy, the director of Ruhama, stated that Ireland must face up to the reality that women are being trafficked into the country for the purposes of prostitution, and that legislation is being put in place for this horrific crime.

In 2004, Italy led Europe in recognising the need to protect victims of trafficking and 1,940 victims, including 118 children, received assistance under social programmes. We seem to have adopted an ad hoc Irish solution to an Irish problem. Hopefully we are introducing more effective legislation, but this needs to be backed up by more resources for the Garda Síochána, Ruhama and the health services. It is estimated that between 700,000 and 4 million women and children are moved across international borders each year. We know the profits to be made are similar to those of illegal drugs and the arms trade, as they are worth €8 billion annually. We are not immune in Ireland to international trends. Under the Celtic tiger, many people are coming into this country and unfortunately some are coming against their own free will. They are coerced into prostitution, but we need to send a message that this modern day slavery will not be tolerated in our country. That is why this legislation is being put in place.

I never thought of a young woman as a commodity, but these women are bought and sold to maximise profits. It is a multi-billion dollar business and we need to prosecute these crimes immediately. A few years ago, the former Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, made a serious move when he closed many lap dancing clubs in this city. It was a good move because he obviously had information that there was an east European gangster element involved. He took the tough decision to close these clubs and I am sure he stopped an increase in human trafficking. Some of these clubs were bringing in girls against their own free will. I am not saying that all lap dancing clubs are involved in such activities, but on this occasion he had very definite information and he acted. I have never been a great admirer of Michael McDowell, but I praise him for that.

One of the recommendations of the Irish Refugee Council is that Ireland should sign the Council of Europe's convention on action against trafficking in human beings, as well as the protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons. The Irish Refugee Council also recommends that Ireland should ratify the optional protocol to the convention on the rights of the child and the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. The upcoming Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill 2007 must include provisions for the immediate granting of visas to victims of trafficking on humanitarian grounds. Legislation must be drafted to prosecute traffickers and must be enacted as soon as possible.

In China, the State council, the local party commissions and government agencies attach a huge importance to human trafficking, as do the police, the courts, civil departments, the media, schools, women's federations, trade unions and the even the communist youth league. We all know what's going on in the street. In the last five or ten years we have got so affluent that maybe we do not want to know. It is time for us to be looking out for the tell-tale signs that something is not right. In Sligo and Louth there were cases of young girls being kept against their will. A call to the Garda Síochána would be an idea.

We have also been accused of being too successful in implementing EU directives, but on this occasion we have been lax in implementing directives that would prevent labour exploitation, including directives on working time and agency workers. The local newspaper in Sligo carried a report on a 17 year old west African girl who came to the attention of gardaí while working as a prostitute in the area. It emerged that she was a minor and had been trafficked to a country where it was intended she would be exploited by a prostitution ring. While we may not get rid of this type of outrageous crime, if the information is passed on to the Garda Síochána or the relevant authorities, it certainly can be curtailed. Although this debate has been worthwhile, information is required and I call on people who notice something unusual to bring their information to the relevant authorities.

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