Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising such an important issue. This is something that is much more prevalent in our society than most people realise. There are people that we engage with on a daily or weekly or monthly basis who may be victims of trafficking and we are not even aware of it. It is really important that we not only reach out to victims to encourage them to come forward and that is something we are doing in a number of different ways I will outline but also that the general public can spot the signs and understand what it is that they are looking for. Whether they are made aware of those signs through campaigns on TV, radio stations, social media or otherwise, what matters is that they are aware, as this is a hugely exploitative and particularly heinous crime that preys on the most vulnerable people in our society. Those who commit this crime have absolutely no regard for the life of their victim, for their dignity or for any basic human right. It is that which we now acknowledge across Government, the seriousness of this crime and our determination to reach those people who are vulnerable, who need our help and who are affected by it and to take them out of these horrific situations has only increased.

Last year, I published a new action plan to combat human trafficking, reflecting and demonstrating the Government's commitment to preventing this crime and in particular, to ensuring that the victims are identified and supported, both nationally and in co-operation with our international partners. This is of course an issue that is transnational and we need to make sure we are working with our comrades in other European countries and working with Europol and Interpol as well.

The plan itself sets out how the cross-departmental and multiagency work to combat this will be taken forward. It includes the new legislative mechanisms the Senator mentioned, the new national referral mechanism in particular, to make it easier to identify victims. One of the things we have seen, particularly with sexual exploitation, is that women and people in general being exploited in this way are often coming from countries where going to the police was not an option for them. Therefore, they do not naturally come to our Garda.The new national referral mechanism will mean they can now come forward, seek assistance and seek help, be it through the Department of Social Protection, health channels or other mechanisms like the organisations Ruhama, the IOM and others. Part of that, through a number of actions, is making sure that we can highlight it to the general public but also those working in specific areas where we know it is more prevalent – working with the hospitality sector, those at our ports of entry, ports and airports, and security services where people work at security in certain industries and areas where they might be able to spot the signs.

Beyond that, it is about highlighting this to the general public. We have the blue blindfold campaign, which explains and educates the different types of human trafficking that exists and how to recognise the signs. To the Senator’s point, there is an email address and a 24-7 contact line provided on the website, but it is about making people aware of that and making sure it is not something that is highlighted once a year, once a month or on particular days. We are working closely and collaborating with a number of NGOs. We are using specific events, such as the EU anti-human trafficking day and the UN World Day against Trafficking in Persons, to enhance public awareness of trafficking. There will also be development and evaluation of certain campaigns.

On where I would like to get it to, I refer to Coco’s Law, which was passed a number of years ago. When the legislation was enacted, it made it illegal to share intimate images of a person. We put a huge amount of money in and a particular focus on developing awareness-raising campaigns. We see those campaigns on our TV screens, we hear them on radio and we see them on social media. It is not just once a year; it is throughout the year. They have been hugely effective. We have seen the response where people have gone to hotline and we have seen the increase in the number of prosecutions through An Garda Síochána. It has become something that people now see and understand, particularly younger people, who it was impacting. I want us to build up the campaigns until we get to a point where people can see it and, without even knowing it, they are able to spot the signs and perhaps reach out, help a person and encourage them to come forward or go to the Garda. We are not quite there yet, but if we continue to invest and prioritise it in the way we have over the past number of years, we will get to that point.