Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Bhíomar ag caint mar gheall ar go leor Billí cosúil leis sin atá ceangailte le coir thromchúiseach go hidirnáisiúnta an bhliain seo agus tá an Bille seo ceangailte leis sin chomh maith. Ar thaobh amháin, tá na dúshláin a fheicimid leis na coireanna sin nuair a bhíonn orainn obair le tíortha eile ach, ar an taobh eile, tá orainn ár bpolasaí féin a fháil amach.

We have had to speak to a number of Bills like this connected with transnational crime this year and the Bill is very much in keeping with that. On one hand, the challenges posed by the crimes of trafficking persons very much require collaboration. On the other hand we must mark out our own policy, informed by the humanitarian reasons why so many people are falling into the hands of traffickers. As long as there continues to be war and bloodshed around the world, especially with climate change, people will seek to move across the world and will, in general, gravitate to the global north. The 2020 trafficking report from the US State Department indicates this clearly. The Government has not obtained a trafficking conviction since the law was amended in 2013, which weakened deterrence, contributed to immunity for traffickers and undermined efforts to support victims to testify. Perhaps this Bill may come some way to addressing the problem but resources must be provided as well.

Kerry has one of the longest coastlines in the entire country, making it a prime site for potential trafficking. What plans are being made to address this and provide for anti-trafficking efforts along the west coast as part of ongoing reforms? As mentioned by Deputy Devlin, I am also interested in the HSE team in place to help the people who are victims of human trafficking.

The recent release of the Facebook papers highlighted how it and other social media platforms have been used as markets for people. Sometimes we are a little deferential to these companies but as a key regulatory and economic hub for the newly renamed Meta, we have a serious role to play in addressing the use of these social networks in general and particularly in this context when they are used by traffickers. I look forward to seeing that.

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