Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim céad fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit agus cuirim fáilte roimh na cuairteoirí speisialta atá anseo chomh maith. Tá Sinn Féin ag tacú leis an moladh agus leis an reachtaíocht seo atá á thabhairt chun cinn, maidir le gáinneáil ar dhaoine agus coireanna uafásacha, gránna. Rud ar bith gur féidir linn a dhéanamh le cur i gcoinne é seo agus le tacú leis na híospartaigh a bhíonn ag plé leis, ba chóir dúinn sin a dhéanamh.

Sinn Féin commends the Minister on bring forward this legislation and supports it. Human trafficking is an odious crime and we have long demanded action on it to ensure it is effectively combatted and the victims of this crime well protected. Human trafficking is humiliating, dehumanising, abusive, exploitative and robs people of their dignity. Halting it must be a very high priority for any government. We have continually attempted to highlight that there is far more to human trafficking than sex trafficking and while this is a very significant proportion of it, we should also be aware that around the globe and across Ireland there are significant numbers of people trafficked to work in the domestic sector as well as in the agriculture and catering industries, which has been highlighted.

The Migrant Rights Centre Ireland has done excellent work in exposing these practices but the extent of trafficking for forced labour is still under-recognised. The digest kindly provided by the library and research facility highlights that some 24% of human trafficking in Ireland between 2009 and 2011 involved trafficking for the purposes of labour. Therefore we are glad to see the Minister bring forward this legislation to provide legislative protections in the area. It brings in an autonomous offence of forced labour, as has been highlighted, and states that the minimum standards as set out in Directive 2011/36/EU are to be adhered to, which is welcome and overdue. This legislation brings in a definition based on the International Labour Organization definition of forced labour, which is as follows: "all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the person has not offered himself voluntarily".

We have long called for a specific offence of forced labour, and are glad the Minister has acted on it. There were difficulties in identifying and securing convictions for trafficking for forced labour. Previously, while trafficking for forced labour was an offence, forced labour and servitude in itself was not an offence. This was brought into law in the North under the British Coroners and Justice Act 2009, so all-Ireland harmonisation is important, particularly in an area such as trafficking, and we have called for that in numerous policy documents in recent times.

We were not alone in this view. The US State Department recommended that Ireland consider measures which would "explicitly criminalise forced labour and other forms of compelled service." Likewise the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, OSCE, special representative and co-ordinator for combating trafficking in human beings stated that "the introduction of an autonomous offence of forced labour could be an additional tool to tackle the criminal phenomenon of labour exploitation".

The legislation also provides that public officials who are found guilty of certain trafficking offences in the course of their public duties will face harsher sentences. This is in line with the directive and is appropriate. It recognises that persons in such positions as these, for example, somebody working with a Department, is in a position of responsibility and has a certain duty of care to the victim, and to abuse that responsibility is a crime of particular seriousness, and therefore there should be particular penalties to discourage that.

I will take this opportunity, on Second Stage, to outline a number of concerns which are held by the Immigrant Council of Ireland. Many of these relate to the fact that the State should focus not only on bringing traffickers to justice, but also focus on ensuring that the victims of this heinous crime are protected and supported after their ordeal. Ireland has yet to clarify what supports and assistance will be provided to victims after criminal proceedings have concluded, as the EU directive requires. This is an issue on which Sinn Féin has called for action. We believe there should be a full range of protection and support measures as well as medical, professional, legal and psycho-social assistance that address the particular needs and risks faced by the individuals concerned and, where applicable, members of their families. We would like to see commitments in this regard which would outline the types of support and timelines for their provision.

The Immigrant Council of Ireland is also concerned that this legislation does not offer resolution to the outstanding issue of identification of victims. This has led to confusion about the levels of trafficking in Ireland and a very low rate of prosecutions. The Government should use this opportunity to outline how it plans to improve victim identification with a view to improving the support to and protection of victims and to prepare witnesses for criminal prosecution. Yesterday, we saw a day of action on the issue of direct provision, and we had a meeting today of the Seanad ad hoc group on direct provision. This is prompting much discussion and has raised much awareness, and these initiatives are very important. This is an issue on which we in the Seanad, and I in particular, have been very vocal. There is other EU legislation which must be enacted as a matter of urgency, particularly the EU reception conditions directive, the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which the direct provision contravenes.

The service provided in direct provision is institutional and does not cater for the need of gender. Its is inadequate and inappropriate. It is, the Immigrant Council of Ireland submits, questionable whether it meets the EU directives requirement for appropriate and safe accommodation. The Immigrant Council of Ireland is also concerned at the failure to outline any procedure for victims of trafficking with special needs, including those with disabilities, health issues, pregnancy or trauma from physical, mental and sexual abuse. The council believes this to be a shortfall in the Bill.

The council is also very conscious of what is known as secondary victimisation, as was mentioned, whereby people who are trafficked are forced to recount time and again their horrific experiences. We should seek to ensure this is avoided where possible and Government needs to outline what measures and protocols will be taken on this, in line with the EU directive. On these issues, we will be considering amendments on Committee Stage and are asking the Government to consider these matters in the meantime, to respond and, if possible, to bring forward its own amendments to the legislation. I reaffirm our view that the Government must sign and ratify the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.

This has been in force since June 2003 and is the only one of the core UN human rights treaties that the 26-county State has not signed. We also support ratification of the Palermo protocol on human trafficking from 2000 and we are committed to working with others, in particular to stop the trafficking of children. I urge the Minister of State to consider an all-Ireland approach to the problem of trafficking and ensure the Garda and the PSNI work hand in glove on this issue and develop an all-Ireland strategy to ensure PSNI-Garda co-operation to combat and prevent trafficking of people into the sex industry, bonded labour and forced labour, forced marriages, etc. We are happy to support this valuable and worthwhile legislation and commend the Minister of State for introducing it. Tréaslaím leis an Aire Stáit agus leis an Rialtas as ucht an píosa reachtaíochta an-tábhachtach seo a thabhairt chun cinn.