Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Amendments Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, are linked. The first is the substantive proposal, with amendments Nos. 2 and 3 arising out of that amendment. While the Minister for Justice and Equality understands that these proposals are well motivated, they are unnecessary. One of the specific purposes of section 1 of the Bill is to add the trafficking of persons for criminal activities to the scope of exploitative conduct criminalised by the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008. This will facilitate full compliance with Directive 211/36/EU. In line with that directive, criminal activity is defined in the Bill as an activity that is "engaged in for financial gain or that by implication is engaged in for financial gain".

Iteration 11 of the directive states that the expression "exploitation of criminal activities" should be understood as referring to the expectation of a person to commit, inter alia, pick-pocketing, shoplifting, drug trafficking and similar activities that are subject to penalties and which apply financial gain. This is a non-exhaustive list of criminal offences which includes minor as well as more serious offences. The type of criminal activity a trafficker is likely to force a victim to engage in can constitute serious criminality such as drug trafficking or a minor offence such as pick-pocketing or shoplifting. That is the case whether the victim is trafficked for criminal activities in this State or another state.

As currently drafted, subsection 1(a)(d)(ii) of the Bill is consistent with the non-exhaustive nature of offences covered by iteration 11 of the directive. The construction includes minor and more serious offences and automatically includes harvesting of human organs. The removal of organs without consent or for payment is an offence under EU regulations on the quality and safety of human organs intended for transportation, as set out in SI 325 of 2012. These regulations give effect to Directive 2010/53/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 July 2010 on the quality and safety of human organs intended for transportation.

Under the regulations made by the Minister for Health, it is an offence to traffic, harbour, import or export organs contrary to the regulations and the directive. The regulations set out a framework encompassing the establishment of competent authorities, the authorisation of transportation centres and the establishment of conditions of procurement and systems of traceability. Consequently, in the context of human trafficking for criminal activities, there is no need for a specific reference in the Bill to the harvesting of human organs.

Section 7 of the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 addresses the issue of extraterritorial jurisdiction in terms of prosecution of human trafficking offences. These provisions will extend to the Bill, when enacted, including the offence of human trafficking for criminal activities. Section 7 of the 2008 Act provides that where a person who is an Irish citizen or ordinarily resident in the State does an act in a place other than the State which, if done in the State, would constitute a human trafficking offence, he or she shall be guilty of an offence. Similarly, section 7 provides for extraterritorial jurisdiction where a person does an act in respect of an Irish citizen in a place other than the State which, if done in this jurisdiction, would constitute an offence. In the circumstances amendments Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, are unnecessary and I call on the Senators to withdraw them.