Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 971: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the ways in which the Government attempts to prevent human trafficking into Ireland; if the Government is following international best practice to thwart human trafficking into Ireland; if anyone has been convicted of human trafficking in Ireland since 2001; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30790/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Legislative, administrative and operational/enforcement/monitoring measures have been put in place to provide a comprehensive, holistic and effective response to the heinous crime of trafficking in human beings. Legislative Developments The Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 has been fully operational since 7th June, 2008. The Act creates offences of trafficking in children and adults for the purpose of sexual or labour exploitation or the removal of their organs. It also makes it an offence to sell or offer for sale or to purchase or offer to purchase any person for any purpose. Penalties of up to life imprisonment apply in respect of these offences.

Enactment of this legislation brings Ireland into compliance with the criminal law/law enforcement elements of the:

(i) EU Framework Decision on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings

(ii) Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings and

(iii) UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons especially Women and Children.

The Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill at Section 124 provides for a period of recovery and reflection of 45 days in the State for alleged victims of trafficking. Furthermore where the person trafficked wishes to assist the Gardaí in any investigation or prosecution in relation to the alleged trafficking, the Section provides a further six months period of residence, renewable, to enable him or her to do so. An administrative framework, reflecting the provisions in the Bill, was introduced on 7th June, 2008 to provide for the period of recovery, reflection and residency in the State during the period between the enactment of the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act, 2008 and the full enactment of the provisions in the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill.

Administrative Developments

An Interdepartmental High Level Group has been established to recommend to me the most appropriate and effective responses to trafficking in human beings. Furthermore, an Anti-Human Trafficking Unit has been established in my Department under the Stewardship of an Executive Director. The role of the Unit is to ensure that the State's response to trafficking in human beings is coordinated, comprehensive and holistic. A National Action Plan to Prevent and Tackle Trafficking in Human Beings will be approved by the High Level Group for submission to me, with a view to publication by the end of the year. Roundtable discussions chaired by the Executive Director of the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit are being held with Government and non-governmental organisations on a quarterly basis.

In addition, 5 interdisciplinary Working Groups have been established to progress matters and, in turn, report to the High Level Group. The Working Groups will deal with:

Development of a National Referral Mechanism

Awareness Raising and Training

Child Trafficking

Labour Exploitation Issues

Sexual Exploitation Issues

Ireland participates in a European initiative known as the G6 Human trafficking Initiative, which includes the UK, Poland, Italy, France, Spain and the Netherlands along with Interpol, Europol and Eurojust. The most recent meeting of the G6 took place on the 20th June, 2008. Ireland has recommended a particular focus on the trafficking of children in the course of the G6 initiative. As part of this initiative the Garda Síochána has commenced an operation designed to prevent the trafficking of minors in to, out of, and within the State, to ensure the welfare of suspected victims of such criminal activity is adequately provided for, and to commence prosecutions where criminal activity of the nature concerned has been detected. An awareness-raising campaign throughout the participating countries — led by Ireland — is also planned under this initiative. The campaign in Ireland will commence in October and run for a period of three weeks. Its focus will be the General Public and Law Enforcement. Training on the legislation and the indicators of trafficking has been given to Labour Inspectors of the National Employment Rights Authority and staff of the Health Service Executive. Further training is planned for a number of professionals who have been identified as benefiting from such training in the course of their work.

Ireland is participating in an operation, "Pentameter 2", launched by the UK. One of the main objectives of the operation is to raise awareness of the scale of the problem of trafficking of human beings for the purposes of sexual exploitation, particularly among those who avail of sexual services. The operation assists awareness raising in showing Ireland and the UK as locations which are hostile to human trafficking. As part of Operation Pentameter 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 Garda Síochána are taking a pro-active approach in Operation Pentameter to address the need for a coordinated approach to human trafficking with the Common Travel Area which operates between the UK and Ireland. This cooperation is taking place in a number of ways, including intelligence sharing, joint training exercises and operational cooperation where investigations have a cross-border, UK/Ireland, dimension.

Immigration border controls are maintained by the Garda National Immigration Bureau and a number of traffickers and victims of traffickers have been identified through the rigorous enforcement of immigration legislation. Joint operations, in association with the UK Immigration Service, continue to be part of immigration policy to prevent and detect possible abuses of the Common Travel Areas (CTA), by means of illegal immigration and associated criminality.

Liaison at an international level between the Garda Síochána and the international law enforcement community forms part of the approach taken by An Garda Síochána to human trafficking. Members of An Garda Síochána regularly attend international meetings including those organised by Europol, Interpol and Frontex, to facilitate the exchange of information and best practice between EU Member States in particular, and on a global basis with countries of origin of suspected victims of human trafficking.

A training programme, titled 'Tackling Human Trafficking — Prevention, Protection, Prosecution' to assist those tasked with investigating incidents of human trafficking, was developed at the Garda Síochána Training College, Templemore in 2006 in consultation with the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). Members from the GNIB, the IOM and other Government and non-Governmental Agencies, including Ruhama and the Migrants Rights Centre of Ireland (MRCI), make presentations to participants on these courses, which are regularly held at the Garda College. Regular presentations are also made by the Head of the UK Human Trafficking Centre and by officials from the Health Services Executive (HSE) who have responsibility for dealing with unaccompanied minors who arrive in the State, some of whom are suspected of having been trafficked into the State. Garda Personnel involved in the delivery of training to Student and Probationer Gardai and in the delivery of in-service training at District and Divisional levels have attended the Training Courses and presentations now form part of the Student/Probationer and Continuous Development Programmes at the Garda College and nationwide. Members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland have also participated, as students, on training courses at the Garda College.

As the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act, 2008 only came into operation on 7th June, 2008 no convictions have been recorded to date for offences contrary to that Act. However, prior to the enactment of the Act of 2008 the Garda Síochána utilised the provisions of the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act, 2000 in cases where human trafficking was suspected. Since September, 2000 over one hundred persons have been arrested and detained in respect of alleged breaches of the provisions of Section 2 of the Act of 2000. Four persons have been convicted in respect of twenty two alleged breaches of the provisions of Section 2 of the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act, 2000 and one person is currently awaiting trial while investigation files are being prepared for submission to the Law Officers.