Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)

Nonetheless, the Minister is reviewing the 2000 Act and will be recommending changes to it in due course.

Deputies Terence Flanagan and Feighan mentioned that we had not signed the Council of Europe convention against trafficking. In fact, Ireland signed the Council of Europe convention on 13 April 2007. Deputy Flanagan also inquired about the confidentiality of reporting suspected cases of trafficking and whether a dedicated website or telephone number was available. The Minister is not convinced that a website would be the best way of communicating with victims of trafficking or for reporting suspected cases. Last year Crimestoppers ran a campaign which provided a telephone helpline for potential trafficking cases and the number of calls made to the helpline was minimal. Various awareness raising initiatives are at present being examined as part of the G6 initiative. I already mentioned that we are leading the strand on the awareness project and will co-lead with the UK the strand on victim protection. At present the Garda Síochána is assisting Ruhama with an awareness campaign and the progress of this is being monitored before decisions are taken on the next steps. The awareness campaign is designed to encourage women who are engaged in prostitution and may be victims of trafficking to make contact with Ruhama so that they can be offered assistance and support. Regular contact is maintained between the Garda National Immigration Bureau and Ruhama to ensure that victim welfare is prioritised in dealing with suspected cases of human trafficking and that those engaged in the criminal acts are brought to justice.

A number of Members paid tribute to the work being done by Ruhama and, indeed, inquired about funding. The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, through the Probation Service, provides funding for Ruhama. This amounted to €275,000 this year. It received a similar amount last year. Ruhama also received about €380,000 under phase I of the equality for women measure. This was provided over a three year period that commenced in 2001. In addition, Ruhama received this year from the Department €50,000 towards the provision of a court accompaniment service scheme and direct victim support. This included an element of salary costs for a trafficking co-ordinator to enable Ruhama to make contact with and provide support to women who are trafficked into Ireland. We are very much aware of the good work they are doing and are quite happy to assist them in that important work.

Deputies Enright and Cuffe also raised the issue of Garda training, and Deputy Feighan wondered how qualified we were and what sort of resources we had to deal with the situation. A total of 150 police officers from the Garda Síochána and the PSNI have been trained in prevention, protection and prosecution measures relating to trafficking in human beings in the period 2006-07. The officers who received the training were selected as being those most likely to encounter victims of trafficking in border, immigration and detective units nationwide. The training was designed by An Garda Síochána in conjunction with the International Organisation for Migration. Non-governmental organisations such as Ruhama and Migrants Rights Centre Ireland gave presentations to participants based on their experience from interaction with the victims of trafficking.

Deputy Naughten alleged that passports issued by Irish embassies abroad are of inferior quality to those issued by the Passport Office in Dublin. This is a point with which we could be keen to deal. The Minister mentioned in his opening address that while false or stolen documents are an inevitable feature of smuggling, it is not necessarily a feature of trafficking. Nonetheless, it is important that the record be put straight on the integrity of Irish passports. I am informed that since the introduction of the automated passport system in late 2004, production of passports has been centralised in Dublin. Applications submitted abroad are sent electronically to Dublin for passport production. The passports are highly secure with the holder's details laser engraved on a polycarbonate data page. Passport security was further upgraded last year with the introduction of the e-passport which includes an integrated circuit, or chip, embedded in the data page. The chip stores the biographical information and a digital photograph of the passport holder. This is the same detail that is displayed on the data page. The chip is locked and the data on it cannot be changed.

In urgent situations embassies and missions abroad can issue an emergency passport which is of limited validity, usually not more than 11 months. This passport has its own security and is laser printed so that photo substitution cannot take place. Handwritten passports are no longer issued.

Deputy O'Rourke would like to see a non-punishment clause for victims of trafficking in the Bill, as provided for in the Council of Europe convention. Article 26 of the Convention states:

Each Party shall, in accordance with the basic principles of its legal system, provide for the possibility of not imposing penalties on victims for their involvement in unlawful activities, to the extent that they have been compelled to do so.

This is a greatly watered down version of the text of the original article. Many countries, including Ireland, could not agree to a non-prosecution clause as, in our case, it would interfere with the independence of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Once a prosecution has been initiated we could not interfere with the independence of the courts. We could not, for example, provide a criminal offence in our laws and tell the courts that in certain circumstances they could not impose a penalty on conviction. That is why Article 26 is worded in a way that allows countries to implement it in a way that is compatible with their legal system. In our case, it is incompatible with our legal system. What is compatible with our legal system is the power of the DPP to use his discretion on whether to prosecute in each case.

There is some confusion as to the number of persons trafficked into Ireland and the number trafficked worldwide. The numbers vary widely and this is not surprising for such a clandestine activity. The recently published research project funded and supported by the National University of Ireland, Galway, estimated the probable minimum number of women trafficked into Ireland for sexual exploitation since 2000 as 76. A number of Members in their contributions stated that this is an area where it can be difficult to have accurate figures such is the nature of the game, but that is the most recent figure we were given.

One of the problems at present in estimating the numbers is the confusion between smuggling and trafficking. This is readily conceded in the research. Researchers allowed those interviewed to offer their own definitions of trafficking thus allowing for and containing disputing views. This is not a criticism of the research; we did not have a single definition of trafficking which clearly distinguished it from smuggling. In future, with the definition of trafficking in the Bill, there will be no confusion and it may be easier to estimate with more confidence the numbers trafficked into Ireland.

Deputy Ó Snodaigh raised the question of children being trafficked for adoption. In the context of adoption, trafficking is not an issue. Other issues may arise, such as smuggling and the payment of money to so called intermediaries.

I understand the Department of Health and Children is drafting legislation that will allow for ratification of the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. Considerable progress has been made in drafting this legislation and it is expected the Bill will be published around the end of the year. A core principle of the Hague Convention is that inter-country adoption should be child-centred and that in all stages, the child's interests must be paramount. Adopting across international borders brings with it many more issues than those that apply to children adopted domestically. Legislation and specifically the regime of the Hague Convention are assurances for individual children, their families and the State that appropriate procedures have been followed and that the adoption was effected in the best interests of the child.

Deputy Ó Snodaigh also referred to children being trafficked for the purposes of welfare fraud and ritual killing. Again, if that were to happen it would, most likely, constitute smuggling and if ever identified could be prosecuted under other legislation. It is important to distinguish smuggling from trafficking. That is one of the primary purposes of this legislation and in that context we should comply with international understandings of what constitutes trafficking. Otherwise, we would be back in a position of uncertainty and confusion.

Deputy Costello inquired why Ireland has not implemented the European directives on working time and agency workers. I am informed that both directives are still in draft form and that negotiations on them are continuing. There is nothing in the present text of the working time directive that is of concern to Ireland but apparently several other countries have reservations which have caused the negotiations to stall. With several other member states, we are concerned with the text of the agency workers directive. In our case the concern relates to how long should elapse before pay parity should become obligatory.

Deputy Creighton referred to the EU Council Directive 2004/817 EC on the residence permit issued to third country nationals who are victims of trafficking or who have been the subject of an action to facilitate illegal immigration, who co-operate with the competent authorities. This directive was adopted by Council in April 2004. Ireland is not bound by or subject to the directive. However, under the fourth protocol to the Treaty of Amsterdam, Ireland may decide to opt to participate in the instrument. In this regard, the question of participating in the directive remains under consideration. The Council of Europe convention is more extensive than the directive, although the instruments share common features as regards provision for a period of recovery and reflection and in certain circumstances the issue of a residency permit.

It has not been possible to respond to all the issues raised by Members but I hope I have responded to the main points raised in the debate. If Members wish to have further clarification they can feel free to make contact with the Department and we will do our best to respond to them. The debate ranged widely, sometimes away from the immediate purpose and content of the Bill but was no less interesting for that. It is to be hoped Committee Stage will be equally constructive and that this short but important Bill can be enacted without undue delay. I thank Members for their contributions which were much appreciated. It is unusual to have such agreement on proposed legislation.

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