James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

I congratulate Deputy Naughten on bringing forward this motion to address the current weaknesses in the approach to trafficking, which is facilitating the development of the slave and sex trade in Ireland. It is generally seen that Ireland is a haven for the sex and slave trade. The illegal sex industry here is reckoned to be worth €180 million a year, with an estimated 1,000 men paying for sex every day.

Human trafficking is the fuel that keeps prostitution on the road as evidenced by the fact that 97% of the 1,000 women involved in indoor prostitution are migrants, and that 90% of potential human trafficking victims are being investigated on the basis of sexual exploitation, some involving minors. We have already heard from Deputy Pat Breen and Deputy Deirdre Clune about the number of minors who have gone missing from the care of the HSE, which, against this background, is very disturbing.

The Fianna Fail Government's attempts to tackle sex trafficking have been at best piecemeal and insufficient. We must now put a comprehensive strategy in place to deal with the proliferation of sex trafficking into this country. Criminal elements are exploiting the lack of regulation of the legitimate massage industry to provide cover for brothels which are trafficking women into Ireland. The reality is that many of these brothels are using the guise of complementary therapy to promote their business, and many have been known to openly advertise some of their services. As a result of complete inaction by the Government and the Minister for Health and Children, there has been a proliferation in the number of these parlours with media reports showing that the number of brothels has doubled in one year, with 90 in Dublin alone. Gardaí believe that these establishments are centrally organised and most of the women in them are victims of human trafficking, are reported to be suffering miserable lives and are often subject to abuse by their traffickers. We know the violence and the fear those women have suffered from the programmes we have seen on television.

The lack of regulation is driving the trafficking industry, which continues to see women forced into this country to work in the sex industry. I will allude to that later in my contribution. Many come here expecting an entirely different life. They are duped into this situation by people who are evil, and that is the only word to describe them.

We need to strengthen the regulatory environment for complementary therapists, including massage therapy, as much for that industry's own good as anything else. The working group had its first meeting in May 2003 which I understand comprised representatives of the main therapy groups, a consumer representative, representatives from the Department of Health and Children and the Department of Education and Science. The report of the working group was published in 2006 and called for the "development of a robust system of voluntary self-regulation" for this industry, yet nothing has happened in the intervening years.

The failure by the Department of Health and Children to implement the recommendations of its own working group on the regulation of the legitimate massage therapy industry is providing a legitimate cover for many brothels to operate and exploit vulnerable migrant women. That sends out a clear message to international criminals that Ireland continues to be a soft touch in this regard.

Considering the seriousness of this situation we must now consider the role that statutory regulation can play to help phase out this criminal activity. Statutory regulation is a system whereby each individual member of a profession is recognised by a specified body as competent to practice within that sphere of activity under a formal mechanism that is provided for by law. Unlike systems of voluntary regulation, it is a legally binding process - all persons wishing to practice must be registered and can be prosecuted for practising if not registered.

There is no reason a body such as HIQA or some other could not be resourced to oversee the alternative medicine area and massage parlours, regulate the people who work in those areas and validate their activities. We have been campaigning for greater protection for victims of human trafficking who are invariably being held in a form of modern slavery. They are subject to violence, abuse, rape and run the long-term health risk of sexually transmitted diseases. That is all the more sad when we consider that many of them were duped into coming here with a promise of a very different life.

This is a serious matter of public safety and public health. It is critically important that we have transparency in all complementary and medical therapies to ensure that we protect patients, avoid confusion and stop the criminal elements that are exploiting the absence of regulation. We must protect the vulnerable in society regardless of whether they are our citizens.

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