Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 6, subsection (1), between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following:

"(h) an offence under the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008,".

The offence proposed to be added here is on the advice of the Attorney General's office. It is an additional one in the category of serious offences and relates to trafficking for the purposes of sexual or other exploitation. Offences relating to trafficking of illegal immigrants are already included in subsection (e) but this includes human trafficking for sexual exploitation. Where any person has been convicted of this offence, this amendment will allow me to make a decision on such a person's good repute and decide whether they should be involved in a road haulage or passenger transport business.

As with the other serious offences listed in the section, this is an important measure for public safety. Essentially, it takes account of the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 and allows it to be taken into account if somebody applying for a haulage licence has been involved in human trafficking in addition to the existing provision for involvement in illegal immigration.

See this speech in context