Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 152: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the action the Gardaí will be taking as a result of the announcement that Great Britain and Ireland are to work together to combat human trafficking through a new operation called Pentameter two. [22610/07]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Operation Pentameter II was launched in London by the UK Home Secretary on 3 October 2007. Officials from my Department and senior Garda officers have been participating in planning meetings since earlier this year and it is intended that An Garda Síochána will run complementary enforcement operations in this jurisdiction at the same time as the United Kingdom.

The operation which is led by Gloucestershire Constabulary is a proactive and co-ordinated campaign of activity to tackle the trafficking in human beings for sexual exploitation throughout the common travel area of Ireland and the United Kingdom.

The sharing of intelligence between police in both jurisdictions is occurring on a regular basis, and co-operation in investigating suspected cases of human trafficking which impact on both the UK and Ireland is ongoing.

Through Operation Pentameter, a significant level of co-operation has developed, particularly in the area of training, with input from the UK authorities into training courses run by staff from the Garda Training College.

A senior officer at Detective Superintendent rank from An Garda Síochána has been appointed as a liaison officer with Operation Pentameter and he continues to meet with his counterparts in the UK on a regular basis with a view to ensuring that co-ordination of activity between the two jurisdictions in tackling human trafficking is in place.

Furthermore, a member of the Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI) is also currently seconded to the Garda National Immigration Bureau in relation to this issue and this will maximise the co-operation between An Garda Síochána and the PSNI with regard to the problem of human trafficking.

Operation Pentameter II is linked to a larger initiative on human trafficking being undertaken in a number of European countries including Ireland and this larger initiative will be launched in Brussels soon.

The operation is currently in an intelligence-gathering phase. It is my intention that the Criminal Law Bill, which I will publish shortly, will be enacted in time for the enforcement phase of the operation. It would be inappropriate to give any further information that might jeopardise what is now a live policing operation.

While there is no evidence of a substantial human trafficking problem in Ireland, the Government is determined that all necessary actions are taken to ensure that it does not become a significant problem in the future.

Finally, as part of Operation Pentameter 1, a poster campaign was launched in both Ireland and the UK to encourage victims of human trafficking to report their plight to State authorities. The undertaking of additional awareness raising initiatives in both the UK and Ireland during Operation Pentameter II has been discussed and plans are being formulated in this regard.