Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael)

I am pleased my constituency colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Smith, is present to deal with this legislation. I welcome him to the House.

On behalf of the Fine Gael Party, I join Senator Alex White in welcoming this legislation. Second Stage has been dealt with and I do not propose to make a Second Stage speech, other than to cursorily state — as I did not participate in the Second Stage debate — that I unequivocally and wholeheartedly welcome the legislation. It is timely, appropriate and most necessary.

We could never ever in any form of words, regardless of the form of words or prose, convey the horror of human trafficking in all its intensity. It is a horror, base, uncivilised, inhuman and beyond contempt and acceptance. The legislation must be viewed in those terms.

I support and commend the amendments to the Minister of State and the Government on the grounds that they seek merely to deal with the condition of the unfortunate victim after the event. When the victim has been found and released from such horrendous captivity, mechanisms enshrined in legislation should be in place to assist the victim through a process of recovery. God knows for many of them the most effective help probably would be for them to be returned to their homeland as soon as possible, and in such instances, that should be facilitated. However, if the most effective assistance is for them to remain here, that also should be facilitated in terms of their requirements, be it education, accommodation, orientation or counselling. I do not propose, in the interests of dealing with legislation efficiently, to recite every subsection of the amendments because they are on the record. I see no merit in doing that other than to appeal to the Minister of State to incorporate the amendments. I take the point that future legislation might deal with these proposals.

I approach this matter — as the Minister of State humbly said he did — without legal training, without formal, professional legal training, although I have studied some law. I approach this matter without the formal training Senator O'Donovan would bring to his approach to it. From a lay perspective and having read some law, it appears it is not outside the spirit of the legislation or practicality in terms of its implementation to incorporate in it a recuperative, rehabilitative and readjustment process for the victims of this horrendous crime.

I support the amendments on those grounds. If they can be incorporated — I see no reason they cannot — they should be. I am sure no Member on any side of the House in a civilised society would aspire to a position where such provisions would not be made. No Member of the House would contemplate or wish a world where such crime would be suffered by a victim. Why can we not enshrine these provisions in legislation and in that way be true to our Christian ethos as a society? These provisions are worthy of enshrinement in the legislation and I fail to understand how that would conflict with the spirit or the enactment of the legislation. However, I bow to the knowledge of people who are professionally trained in this sphere but I cannot see the conflict.

I commend the amendments. The Bill is right, as are the fines. It is very important that the Oireachtas legislates for disincentives and an attack on human trafficking. Everything associated with human trafficking is alien to our culture and to everything indigenous to the true national spirit of Ireland and to the record of our missionary priests in the developing world. It is at variance with all this and it is a horror. I suggest the Government join in enshrining custodial sentences and fines and be extra affirmative by giving legislative effect to putting a process in place to deal with the victims.