Mary O'Rourke (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)

To take up one of Deputy Coveney's points, this is not about point-scoring, lest anyone thinks it is. On Second Stage I spoke at some length on this Bill, although I did not attend Committee Stage. I am pleased to see the legislation approaching its Final Stages because it is long overdue. The Minister and his Department have done well to bring it so far. It is hugely important to protect the victims of human trafficking. While all the strictures outlined in Deputy Rabbitte's amendment make for fine reading, perhaps it would be unduly prescriptive to include them such a Bill. We are losing track of a central point of the Bill, which is not legislation based on equals. Who can say that a victim is the same as a user or those who commit the crime of trafficking? It is a David and Goliath situation in that the victim has a completely subordinate role because she is untried and untested in a strange country, she does not know the language and she has arrived with false aspirations and has had her dreams shattered. She finds she must come forward to make a complaint to the Garda and tell everything but she cannot do so because she is in an inherently unfair and unjust position. To expect such a person to acquit herself in reportage to the Garda or to apply for various social welfare benefits, a work permit or education and training, as proposed by Deputy Rabbitte, or to believe a woman in these circumstances could put herself forward to gain justice, humanity and kindness from the system that appertains in Ireland and that would happen au naturel is completely erroneous.

I reiterate my special interest in this issue, as I did on Second Stage. I am one of the vice-presidents of Ruhama and I would prefer to declare that rather than have somebody make a story out of my contribution on this legislation. I am entirely committed to the measures the organisation has sought for many years. Ruhama is unheralded and unsung and it was often the subject of ribaldry because people did not understand what it was most genuinely doing. If the measures outlined in Deputy Rabbitte's amendment are thought to be unduly prescriptive to include in legislation, given Departments have an aversion to prescriptive legislation, would there be an opportunity for the Minister to include an omnibus recommendation in an administrative way, as proposed by Deputies Naughten and Coveney? Apart from the validity attaching to this proposal because it has been mentioned in the House, it would also need to be underpinned by an administrative statutory arrangement, whereby the victim would have appropriate access to many of the resources the State would provide normally to the victims of such a depravity.

The Leas-Cheann Comhairle, myself and others on the joint committee would become duly and properly excited if a young Irish girl or a group of Irish women were being so exploited and we would demand, as would everybody else, an immediate response. However, in the main, these young women are European citizens because they have travelled from some of the poorer countries, including the recent accession states. We are committed to ensuring such citizens who are allowed to access our country should be looked after in all aspects. As Deputy Rabbitte said, it took a long time for labour laws to catch up with what has been happening in the context of employment rights but they did. However, these able bodied members of the working community are being preyed upon. These young women find themselves defeated suffering from low morale in a strange country and unable to make demands because they do not have strong voices or the wherewithal in many aspects of their lives to put forward their case. I seek a commitment to the general thrust of what Deputy Rabbitte has put forward in his amendments.

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