Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We support this Bill. It is a legislative measure that is overdue in some respects. People smuggling is not only an issue for Ireland but is an international issue that crosses boundaries and borders across Europe and elsewhere in the world. It is not before time that this EU directive is finally being transposed into law, and I and my Sinn Féin colleagues welcome it.

Many Deputies will recall the horrific images on our television screens when 39 Vietnamese people suffocated in a sealed container in Essex in 2019. The victims in that case were 29 men, eight women and three children, two of whom were aged 15 years. There was evidence in the subsequent trial detailing the terror and horror those people went through as they died, one by one. Some of them tried to escape. Many of them made contact with their families to say a final goodbye from the entombed horror which they lived through for the number of days they were locked in the container. That incident brought home the realities and dangers of this behaviour and, indeed, what people must be running away from by taking such risks to get to somewhere better in their lives. Many are trying to get to countries where they already may have family and they are trying to join them. That has to be taken into account.

The incident in Essex displayed the grotesquely lucrative business that people smuggling is. In that case we understand each passenger paid between £10,000 and £13,000 sterling. We all are aware of the exploitative nature of the illegal smuggling trade and the after-effects of it. Many of the people who are smuggled have to repay their debts to smugglers when they get to the other country. Some of that is done through forced domestic labour or, indeed, through prostitution in many cases. There are examples of that in this jurisdiction as well. I am aware of the situation regarding a domestic slave labourer a number of years ago. While I will not go into details, many people would be shocked at how much of it is happening.

It is astounding, especially in certain groups of individuals who come here from certain countries and keep within their own boundaries and become a little enclave of people. There are some horrific situations there and much of it comes from the fact the person who arrived here was without papers and came in illegally after being smuggled here. They then feel they have no identity and have no place. They are outside society and can be abused in any way possible by unscrupulous individuals. Due to the way these people came into the country and the fear of drawing any attention to the situation in which they find themselves, they are left in a precarious position. Many of them end up in prostitution and in other activities they did not envisage was going to be where they would end up before they left their native countries.

On the other hand, the fact this Bill will allow for designated organisations to smuggle people into Ireland may form a key part of humanitarian work in the future. That is vital. We have to recognise there are situations where individuals are fleeing from very difficult situations in their native country. They often need assistance to get here, and sometimes people of goodwill facilitate that. It would be totally inappropriate if legislation were to punish people in those circumstances. We recently dealt with people fleeing from Afghanistan after the fall of the government there. Like me, Deputies and Senators received emails at that time from Afghan people in Ireland who had families there outlining the fears and problems they had.

Much of it related to people in Afghanistan who had worked for Irish or other EU companies. Some of them were under threat because the Taliban saw they were working with the western enemy and they were in a really difficult position. That has not improved for them and, in fact, it has got worse in recent weeks.

There were great difficulties in trying to locate and extract people safely before events in Afghanistan got as bad as they did, and they have got worse since. It was a time that necessitated human trafficking by a designated organisation to allow people to get out safely but, unfortunately, very few were able to do that. I hope that when the Bill comes into law, it will be enforced as a best practice framework to identify and vet any suggested organisations that might smuggle people into the country, and it is vital that that be done properly. The designation of organisations cannot be left to chance because they take people's lives in their hands. We need to ensure it is done properly and that proper regulations are in place in that regard.

It would be remiss of me not to speak to the details these people face when they come forward and try to regularise their status in Ireland. Many people who have come forward in Ireland because they want to regularise their status and stay, work and be part of the community here, with so much to offer to society, find that very difficult, as the Minister of State will be aware. The system is really broken in that context. While there were delays because of Covid, many of these delays predate Covid by quite some time. This has further marginalised people and pushed them onto the fringes of society.

The Bill highlights to me, especially in light of my having engaged with stakeholders on this topic, that increased and specialised training is needed for those working on the front line in the naturalisation and immigration services. It is important that those dealing with applications, interviews, background checks and so on be aware of the signs they need to look out for, whether in regard to the person they are speaking to or the documents he or she provides. The same goes for members of An Garda Síochána, the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the divisional protective units in place throughout the country. The State has to support these people but we cannot support them unless we can identify them. That is a crucial part of it.

The other day I saw a member of An Garda Síochána in Dublin who was clearly from a different ethnic background. He probably came from Africa originally, judging by his skin colour. That is welcome and we need much more diversity within An Garda Síochána and all other elements of State employment. Only when people see themselves or reflections of themselves in that context will they know they will be accepted and can be part of our society. That is an important move we need to make.

We welcome the Bill and think it needs to be advanced as quickly as possible because there is a great deal of work to be done in this area.

See this speech in context