Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Question 212: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the reason Ireland, while it has signed the Palermo Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000) has not been transposed into Irish law, with the result that such trafficking is not illegal here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22272/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The Criminal Justice (Trafficking in Persons and Sexual Offences) Bill should be published later this year and enacted in the lifetime of this Dáil. The primary purpose of the legislation is to allow for compliance with the Framework Decision on combating trafficking in human beings (for the purpose of their sexual and labour exploitation) and the Framework Decision on combating the sexual exploitation of children and child pornography.

At present under the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998 it is a serious offence to traffic a child into, through or out of Ireland for the purpose of the child's sexual exploitation. Also, under the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act 2000 it is an offence for a person to organise or knowingly facilitate the entry into the State of a person whom he or she knows or has reasonable cause to believe to be an illegal immigrant or a person who intends to seek asylum.

The Protocol to prevent and punish trafficking in persons, supplementing the UN Convention against transnational organised crime (the Palermo Protocol) and two other international instruments, the Council of Europe Convention on action against trafficking in human beings (CAHTEH) and the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the rights of the child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, were also taken into account in the preparation of the proposed legislation.

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Question 213: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will confirm that the only non-Governmental organisations (details supplied) operating here with the mandate of helping persons being trafficked for purposes of prostitution only receives €25,000 from the Government to carry out its work; his views on whether this sums indicates that the Government is not giving this matter sufficient attention; his further views, as has been suggested by representatives of the organisation, on the fact that there is a lack of awareness among Gardaí on the way in which to deal with victims of trafficking; and if there are plans to increase funding for these services. [22273/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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My Department has provided substantial funding to Ruhama (more than €1.6m in total from 2002 to 2005) and I understand that funding is also provided by the Health Service Executive. The funding provided relates to the organisation's overall objectives, of which assisting persons trafficked for sexual exploitation is an important part.

Insofar as my Department is concerned, Ruhama receives time bound assistance of €381,000 under the Equality for Women Measure to enable them to develop a model of intervention that would help women in prostitution overcome the barriers they faced in joining mainstream social economic or community education schemes.

In addition, Ruhama received a grant of €26,768 to enable them to engage a coordinator in 2005 to combat trafficking in persons for the purpose of sexual exploitation; they also received a contribution of €12,000 to set up 'Ireland-en-Route', an interagency forum established to address the problem of trafficking in women and children for sexual exploitation.

I can further advise the Deputy that my Department through the Probation and Welfare Service has also provided funding to Ruhama for a number of years. An annual grant of €275,000 was paid in 2005 and a similar amount has been approved for the current year. This project has successfully helped women to exit prostitution and to take up educational opportunities, training, employment or to develop enterprises.

In addition to providing the above support, victims of trafficking who wish to return to their countries of origin may be assisted through the voluntary return programmes operated by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), which has been operating a number of voluntary return programmes in Ireland since 2001. While emphasising the dignity and security of the return, the IOM ensures that all returnees have appropriate transit and post-arrival assistance from IOM missions in countries of transit and destination, and, in some cases, assistance in reintegrating in the destination country. The overall budget for the operation of the Voluntary Assisted Return Programme for 2006 is €838,174.17. While this programme mainly consists of irregular migrants and failed asylum seekers who wish to return to their country of origin, it also includes victims of trafficking.

Regarding the level of Garda resources tasked with preventing human trafficking, a joint task force, which pools the resources of specialist Garda units and detective units, has been established. The Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) acts as the lead unit for the task force. Other specialist units involved include the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation, the Garda National Drugs Unit, the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Criminal Assets Bureau. The GNIB includes a number of sections that have an investigative role and thus play a significant part in the prevention and detection of human trafficking.

In view of the exponential growth in the level of immigration in Ireland in recent years, all members of An Garda Síochána are advised of the need to be mindful of the possibility of trafficking in women for sexual exploitation. If evidence of trafficking for such purposes is disclosed in any case, investigations are conducted.

A training programme has been prepared for delivery to key Garda personnel throughout the State. This training programme has been designed specifically to enable members of An Garda Síochána identify victims of trafficking whom they encounter in the course of their duties, to ensure that members fully understand the complexity of the phenomenon and that victims receive appropriate assistance from all the relevant agencies.

Finally, I would like to draw the Deputy's attention to the US State Department's Trafficking in Persons Report 2006, which was published on 5 June and highlights the approaches taken by 158 countries, and which states that the Irish Government "has shown openness and leadership" in tackling human trafficking.

It further states that the Government "has demonstrated strong leadership and initiative in addressing trafficking through law enforcement means" and "vigorously investigated cases of suspected trafficking reported by NGOs, potential victims themselves, and those reported in the media". The report also states that the "Government of Ireland demonstrated strong engagement with international organisations, NGOs, and potential source countries on trafficking" and that "NGOs reported excellent co-operation with government and police officials, particularly at the operational level".