Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 562: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the steps he is taking to prevent human trafficking into here; the actions taken to identify and assist those trafficked for prostitution; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11383/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Over the past few years strong legislative, administrative and operational measures have been put in place to combat and prevent trafficking in persons for both sexual and labour exploitation purposes. The Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 with penalties of up to life imprisonment for human trafficking has greatly strengthened the law in this area. Section 5 of the Act makes it an offence to solicit or importune a trafficked person, in any place, public or private for the purposes of prostitution. A dedicated Anti-Human Trafficking Unit was established in my Department in 2008 with the purpose of ensuring that the State's response to human trafficking is coordinated and comprehensive. This led to the production of a National Action Plan to Prevent and Combat Trafficking of Persons for the period from June 2009 to December 2012 setting out 144 Actions of which 97 were completed or significantly progressed at the end of 2011 with a further 47 on-going.

In addition to the dedicated Unit in my Department there are 3 other dedicated Units in State Agencies dealing with the issue - the Human Trafficking Investigation and Co-ordination Unit in the Garda National Immigration Bureau; the Anti-Human Trafficking Team in the Health Service Executive and a specialised Human Trafficking legal team in the Legal Aid Board. Dedicated personnel are also assigned to deal with the prosecution of cases in the Director of Public Prosecutions Office. All persons encountered or referred to An Garda Síochána as victims are immediately offered access to a range of services provided by the State including accommodation, medical care, psychological assistance, legal aid and advice, and crime prevention advice.There are a wide range of training and awareness raising activities on-going and extensive consultation structures exist with Non-Governmental Organisations, International Organisations and State Agencies.

The Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill contains statutory protections for victims of trafficking and also provides for recovery and reflection periods and temporary residence permission for persons whom a member of the Garda Síochána, not below the rank of Superintendent, considers that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the person is a victim of human trafficking. These provisions are reflected in Administrative Immigration Arrangements for the Protection of Victims of Human Trafficking which have been in place since the enactment of the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act, 2008. The law in relation to human trafficking and prostitution is kept under continuing review in my Department.

The Garda authorities have conducted a number of operations to combat human trafficking and prostitution and will continue to do so in line with intelligence available to them. Trafficking in human beings is again a policing priority this year, as it has been in recent years. A number of prosecutions have been secured for trafficking and related offences. The details for 2009 and 2010 are set out in data reports published by my Department. The 2011 report is currently being compiled. A number of cases are also before the Courts. An Garda Síochána works closely with other police forces which has resulted in offenders being convicted in other jurisdictions.