Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 110: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs when Ireland will be in a position to ratify and implement international and EU instruments on trafficking of persons. [10516/07]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 143: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps being taken by his Department to combat human trafficking; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10405/07]

Ivor Callely (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 153: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his Department's understanding on the practice of human trafficking; the level that exists in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10293/07]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 241: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps he has taken or proposes to take at both the UN and the EU to combat international trading in human beings; the degree to which it is expected that the international community can or will combat this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10819/07]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 110, 143, 153 and 241 together.

From answers to previous questions that the struggle against trafficking in human beings is a matter of great concern at both EU and international level. A specific Action Plan was adopted at the December 2005 European Council. Implementation of the Action Plan is being pursued by the Justice and Home Affairs Council, where Ireland is represented by the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Human trafficking is also addressed in other international fora, including the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), where Ireland works closely with its EU Partners.

At the national level, the Criminal Law (Trafficking in Persons and Sexual Offences) Bill is currently being drafted. The Bill will fully comply with the requirements of the relevant international instruments, namely the Council of Europe Convention on action against trafficking in human beings, the EU Framework Decision on combating trafficking in human beings and the UN Protocol to prevent and punish trafficking in persons. The Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, who has primary responsibility in this area, has indicated that it is intended, as part of the new immigration policy framework, to provide a clear policy statement setting out how human trafficking cases will be managed once it is established that trafficking has taken place.

As to the level of human trafficking in Ireland, I have been informed by my colleague the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform that, according to the UN Trafficking in Persons Global Patterns Report, Ireland was ranked at the low end of destination or transit target countries in Western Europe. The assessment of An Garda Síochána concurs with the UN Report. That said, An Garda Síochána is very proactive in this area and has only encountered a small number of trafficking cases and these are being fully investigated.

The Department of Foreign Affairs, through Irish Aid, supports the work of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in its efforts towards the abolition of human trafficking. This support includes funding of €1.6 million for the ILO Special Action Programme to Combat Forced Labour (SAP-FL). Irish Aid also provided funding of approximately €350,000 to the ILO in 2006 for its programme aimed at preventing and reducing trafficking of women in Albania, Moldova and Ukraine.

In addition, Irish Aid, through its Civil Society Fund, currently provides assistance to ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes) International, a global network of organisations dedicated to ending these heinous activities. Funding for ECPAT amounts to €300,000 over three years. My Department also supports Children in Crossfire, which aims to combat trafficking in human beings within South Asia. Irish Aid funding for this programme amounts to €379,000 over three years.

Irish Aid also provided support for a national conference held last month to mark the bicentenary of the abolition of the African Slave Trade. A key aim of the conference, which was opened by Minister of State Conor Lenihan TD, was to highlight modern day manifestations of slavery, in particular human trafficking.