Déirdre de Búrca (Green Party)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Curran. I congratulate Senator Mullen on tabling this coherent and intellectually well put together motion. He has argued that we need to strengthen this country's human trafficking legislation, especially in so far as it relates to the sexual exploitation of women and children. I agree with the main point the motion seems to make, which is that human trafficking should be dealt with as part of Ireland's immigration policy and practice, rather than within the sphere of organised crime. We have become accustomed to migration as a feature of the globalised world in which we live. The business of human trafficking, particularly the trafficking of women and children for sexual purposes, is part of the underbelly of that global trend. Human trafficking, which has correctly been referred to as modern-day slavery, is a form of transnational crime. It is appropriate to respond to it at international, European and national levels. This country has a responsibility to ensure its legislation is well thought through, robust and capable of tackling this form of crime.

While I agree with the Minister, Deputy Dermot Ahern, who said earlier in this debate that his three priorities are to prevent trafficking, protect victims and prosecute those responsible for trafficking, I remind him that part of the problem is the age-old issue of prostitution, which has been raised already. We need to consider whether we, as a modern society, should have a tolerant attitude towards the forms of prostitution and sexual services that are clearly available in our midst or should adopt an alternative attitude to them. I am on Senator Mullen's side of the argument in the sense that I do not agree with Senator Norris that we should overlook the activities of the many respectable people who use these services and ignore the fact that many women are trafficked into this country to provide them. The women in question, who are often in a highly dependent and vulnerable position, are usually intimidated to the extent that they have little or no choice other than to participate in these activities. The kind of human degradation that is involved in providing these services means that, as a society, we cannot afford to continue to turn a blind eye to them. We should not suggest that it is okay that so many health and drug problems are associated with these activities. We should not suggest that it would be unfair to criminalise those who purchase sexual services rather than the providers of these services, who clearly are often victims, as it might be upsetting for them and their families if their activities were to be exposed. I agree with the arguments made by Senator Mullen in this regard.

I was present at the recent launch by the Immigrant Council of Ireland of its interesting report on the trafficking of women and children for sexual purposes. In the report, the council recommended that Ireland should follow the example set by Sweden when it criminalised the purchasing of sexual services. As Senator Mullen said, other Scandinavian countries, including Norway, have followed the Swedish example. The problem under discussion will persist until we do likewise. If we continue to treat it as an inevitable and inescapable problem that will never go away, we will continue to turn a blind eye to what is a large problem for society. I accept that society has an ambivalent attitude towards prostitution. More open debates of this nature are needed. We need to reflect on why we tolerate prostitution. The Immigrant Council of Ireland's report pointed out that, as far as we know, one in ten men use prostitution services. Why is this the case? Given that we criminalise and prosecute those who often have little choice other than to provide these services, why do we not see anything wrong with the behaviour of such men?

The trafficking of women for the purposes of sexual exploitation is a multi-billion dollar business that helps to sustain organised crime. It is disturbing that there is evidence to suggest that organised criminal gangs in this country are helping international traffickers to establish trafficking routes in Ireland. There are links between the Irish sex industry and the Russian mafia. The growing presence of Russian and Albanian mafia members is of particular concern to the Garda. It has been alleged that gangs based in Estonia and Latvia have also trafficked women into Ireland. We cannot underestimate the importance of the legislation that has been put in place in this area. I admit that we were a little slow in producing the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008. We were criticised for that. Ireland was given a tier 2 rating in a report on human trafficking that was produced by the US State Department. While the US did not see Ireland as one of the worst countries in this respect, it did not believe we were dealing with the issue of human trafficking in a satisfactory manner. It recognised we were making efforts, however.

The proposals outlined in Senator Mullen's motion should be taken seriously and examined. The motion refers to the unfortunate and inappropriate decision to give "gardaí who police immigration laws .... the mandate to deal with victims of the crime of human trafficking". I suggest that a special anti-human trafficking unit should be established and properly resourced and the gardaí working in it should be given appropriate training. Senator Mullen has suggested we should "extend the recovery and reflection period to three months", which I think would be absolutely appropriate. I agree with him that the threshold for victims who co-operate with the Garda is "too high and too ""evidence-based" in granting victims the recovery and reflection period". I accept his contention that "it is traumatising for witnesses to testify in front of the accused and their associates". We need to design processes that take all this into account. Our legislation needs to recognise that it is often difficult for victims to testify against those who have intimidated them and put them in vulnerable positions in which they are obliged to provide these services.

I agree with Senator Mullen that gardaí should receive "specialised training" and that "a joint investigation unit" should be established "to police human trafficking on the island of Ireland". He is right to say that we should "extend the recovery and reflection period to three months", "commit to granting the six-month temporary residency permit immediately to victims when they begin co-operating with the criminal investigation", provide for "the option of giving evidence by video and testifying in court by video link", promote "exit routes to enable women to move out of prostitution" and, most importantly, "follow the lead of Sweden, Norway and Iceland by criminalising the purchase of sex so as to target demand in the sex exploitation industry", rather than targeting the victims. We really need to give consideration to the latter proposal.