Rónán Mullen (Independent)

Yes. I would like a debate on this. It is good that we now have legislation which criminalises the trafficking of persons into this State for their exploitation in various ways — in the sex industry, in the labour market or, indeed, for the use of their organs. I took part in the Seanad debate on the legislation and tabled several amendments.

As we see, however, there seems to be a difference between Irish children who go missing in this country and the 300 or so foreign children who have gone missing. The Health Service Executive has confirmed that five young Kenyan nationals have now gone missing. It is feared that these children and others have been removed for trafficking and general exploitation. This points up the need for more than mere legislation which criminalises human trafficking. We need resources for the Garda Síochána and for those who act on our behalf to ensure this does not happen.In our debates on immigration, I hope we will not lose sight of the fact that there are often vulnerable people at the heart of this story. We need to be serious about it and hopefully we can start that with a comprehensive debate on the subject in this House.