Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

I am pleased to have an opportunity to support this Fine Gael motion. I congratulate Deputy Naughten on assembling the motion and using Private Members' Business to ventilate a subject that, as Deputy Connaughton said, is too frequently swept under the carpet. There is, however, a growing awareness of this issue. I have had the opportunity in the past year to address meetings in Cork, Sligo, Kilkenny, Galway and Dublin about this issue. I have the impression that even if relatively few have informed themselves on the subject, they are doing so and there is a growing awareness of the change taking place in the character of prostitution in Ireland. More people are coming into contact with people from outside this jurisdiction who have been trafficked here for the purposes of labour or sexual exploitation. This subject has rarely been dealt with in this House.

If there is one woman trafficked for purposes of sexual exploitation, or indeed labour exploitation, into this country, it is one case too many. We know that human trafficking is not a phenomenon that excludes Ireland, even if we do not have especially extensive data in this area. This motion reproduces the key statistics from the Immigrant Council of Ireland report, to which the Minister referred, entitled Globalisation, Sex trafficking and Prostitution. The figures are not wildly different from those contained in the study done by Dr Eilis Ward of NUI Galway and Dr Gillian Wylie of Trinity College. The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform concedes that it does not have reliable data on the extent of trafficking in our jurisdiction but says: "it is likely to have been a relatively minor activity but has the potential to grow". Since it made that comment there is more information available that challenges the claim that the phenomenon is relatively minor.

Belatedly in 2008 the Government moved to comply with its international obligations when enacting the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act. Apart from bringing us towards compliance, the parliamentary process had the merit of ventilating a phenomenon in Irish society about which there is still a great deal of ignorance. We know that sex trafficking, defined in international law by the 2000 Palermo Protocol, involves the use of force, fraud or coercion to transport an unwilling victim into sexual exploitation and is a lucrative racket dominated by international crime networks. Ireland is not immune from this racketeering in human beings. Those trafficked are mainly young, vulnerable women often fleeing poverty in their countries of origin or deceived into seeking a better life on the false undertakings of the criminal networks involved in trafficking.

The new legislation creates a criminal offence of trafficking persons into, through or out of Ireland for the purpose of their sexual or labour exploitation. During the course of its passage through the Dáil, the Labour Party tried to focus on the need for the protection of, and provision of services to, victims of trafficking. We were convinced that the trafficking of young women for purposes of exploitation is quite separate, and should be kept separate, from issues that arise in the context of immigration, yet the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform chose to make a partial response to our claims in the context not of the human trafficking Bill but rather in the context of the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill.

Human trafficking cannot be appropriately addressed in the context of immigration legislation. Such measures as are now offered in this context will require to be monitored rigorously. I hope the Minister will use Report Stage of the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill to insert, in particular, special provisions for under age persons. The right of minors to services ought not depend on co-operation with a criminal investigation or prosecution. I agree with everything Deputy Naughten said about children's rights and the need for protection for children in this regard.

Only a few weeks ago I was indebted to the Minister for his assistance in dealing with a trafficking case that presented at my clinic. This involved a case of a woman trafficked into domestic labour seven days a week, commencing at 6.30 a.m. for six of those days until 11 p.m. for €120 per week.

I support the measures proposed by Deputy Naughten in this motion, to end the policy of placing victims of human trafficking in asylum centres and introduce independent accommodation, support and protection services. The proposal to extend the period of recovery and reflection as defined in the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill 2008 is a matter on which I sponsored an amendment on Committee Stage and I hope we can improve on it on Report Stage. One of Deputy Naughten's main objectives is to move the focus on human trafficking from the Garda National Immigration Bureau to the Garda organised crime unit. He seeks to extend the remit of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform's anti-human trafficking unit to include migrant women in prostitution and to establish a high level group to examine our prostitution laws with a view to preventing the proliferation of sex trafficking.

It is timely that we would examine the modern character of prostitution and its connection to the phenomenon of human trafficking and criminality and what steps ought to be taken to address the issues that arise. I had the opportunity a few months ago to meet a senior Swedish politician, courtesy of the organisation Ruhama which does excellent work at the coalface. She detailed to me the progress made in Sweden as a result of the recent decision to criminalise the purchase of sex. I have also read material that is equivocal on the outcomes in Sweden and is fearful of the implications of driving prostitution further underground.

My attention has also been drawn to an extensive analysis in The Guardian by Nick Davies which disputes the scale of trafficking for purposes of sexual exploitation into the UK. He develops at some length his thesis that the minimal research available is distorted. Time does not permit me to go into detail on that now but his views are vehemently contested in the UK. Therefore, I welcome the proposition to establish a high level group with appropriate professional support that can assess conflicting evidence and analyse the available literature, including the Swedish experience and the legislative measures currently contemplated in the UK. That way I hope we will not have to re-invent the wheel but get the best from the Swedish and British practice. The establishment of the anti-trafficking unit must put the State in a better position than it has been in up to now, particularly with experience garnered.

A distinction must be drawn between victims of human trafficking who require help, care and protection and migrants, whether legal or illegal. Listening to the Minister, I was not persuaded he accepted that distinction. There is a major gap between the Minister's perception of the operation of existing procedures in this area and the experience of persons working at the coalface. I hope tonight's debate will bring renewed efforts by the House to address a phenomenon that oppresses and degrades women in our society irrespective of their country of origin.

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