James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for her comments. This is somewhat related to amendment No. 5. As I said in my contribution on that amendment, the State protects all of those who come into the State, whether they have been smuggled or not. The principle of non-refoulementis given effect to in sections 50 and 50A of the International Protection Act 2015. International protection is granted based on the criteria set out in the Act and persons who are smuggled and seek international protection are granted or refused that based on the same criteria as those who are not smuggled.

Some of those present in the State without permission will have had contact with criminal smuggling organisations at some point in their journey. In the vast majority of cases, however, those organisations have not been, and will not be, prosecuted or convicted under Irish law or prosecuted or convicted in any state.All those who have been smuggled are, nonetheless, for the reasons set out by Members, in need of particular consideration by the State. Similarly, it is often the case that those who are particularly vulnerable to exploitation may have entered the State legally. Attempting to link criminal offences under the Act to the protections needed is not the correct approach. We have taken care to avoid criminalising those who have been smuggled. However, to provide that those who have been smuggled are in a legally better position than those who have not is to create an incentive to interact with the smugglers. This is a critical distinction between smuggling and trafficking. Trafficking takes place without the consent of the person, and a different range of supports is absolutely required.