Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 152: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will confirm that cases of forced labour can be prosecuted under the Criminal Law (Criminal Justice) Act 2008 without movement being required; if not, if he will detail the specific pieces of legislation that criminalise forced labour and under which prosecutions may be taken; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33673/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 criminalises the trafficking of persons for the purposes of labour exploitation (including forced labour), sexual exploitation and exploitation consisting of the removal of a person's organs. For the purposes of the Act, the term "trafficks" is broadly defined. For example, the commission of an offence does not require cross-border movement or illegal entry into the State. It includes recruitment, taking a person into one's custody, care or charge, and providing the person with accommodation or employment. However, the legislation is primarily an anti-trafficking measure and was never intended to address any of the above exploitative phenomena outside the context of human trafficking.

This does not necessarily mean that a person subjected to forced labour but who has not been trafficked (or where trafficking is difficult to prove) does not have the protection of the criminal law. It is likely that activities constituting forced labour could be prosecuted under a range of offences, for example, false imprisonment, blackmail, assault, the coercion offence in the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997, offences under employment law and health and safety legislation, immigration law, etc.

Internationally, forced labour covers a diverse range of exploitative behaviours. The extent and nature of the phenomenon in this jurisdiction is unclear. At the request of my Department and with a view to establishing the exact nature of alleged abuses, the Garda authorities have recently completed an analysis of allegations of forced labour which have come to their attention. The results of the analysis are currently being examined in my Department so that any legislative and administrative measures required to address deficiencies can be identified. In the event that a need for additional legislative measures is established, proposals will be brought to Government in the usual manner.