Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 149: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the organisations his Department funds which provide projects or services to people involved with or affected by the sex industry; the amount of funding provided to each of these organisations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9404/10]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 150: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the details of any research his Department has conducted, or funded for another organisation to conduct, on issues connected to people involved in or affected by the sex industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9406/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 149 and 150 together.

In 2009 the Commission for the Support of Victims of Crime, an independent body operating under the aegis of my Department, provided funding of €62,000 to Ruhama to enable them to provide assistance to persons trafficked for sexual purposes. A similar level of funding will be provided in 2010. The Commission has agreed to provide funding of €10,000 in 2010 to Sexual Violence Cork for the same purpose.

The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of my Department has implemented a data collection strategy since early 2009 in conjunction with Government and non-Governmental organisations. Data are being collected and analysed by the Unit for the purposes of informing policy development, improving victim support services and guiding counter-trafficking measures. The Garda National Immigration Bureau also maintains data.

The National Action Plan to Prevent and Combat Trafficking, which I published in May 2009, includes a series of actions to improve our understanding of the nature and scale of the problem by developing a comprehensive data and research strategy. The principal aim of all such research is to provide policy makers and State organisations working in the area of human trafficking with the tools to discharge their functions more effectively.