Patrick Nulty (Dublin West, Independent)
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446. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the assistance offered to victims of human trafficking here; the number of persons that have been victims of human trafficking here; his plans to tackle human trafficking; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39830/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Over the past number of years strong legislative, administrative and operational measures have been put in place to combat and prevent trafficking in human beings. 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. An Amendment to the 2008 Act was enacted on 9 July 2013 the purpose of which is to facilitate full compliance with the criminal law measures in Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA. To fully comply with the Directive’s minimum definition of exploitation the legislation, among other things, criminalises trafficking for the purposes of forced begging and trafficking for other criminal activities.

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. In addition to the dedicated Unit in my Department there are 3 other dedicated Units in State Agencies dealing with the issue namely:

- the Human Trafficking Investigation and Co-ordination Unit in An Garda Síochána;

- 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 Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and staff in the New Communities and Asylum Seekers Unit in the Department of Social Protection facilitates victims moving into mainstream social services. There are also a wide range of training and awareness raising activities on-going and extensive consultation structures exist with up to 70 State Agencies, Non- Governmental Organisations and International Organisations.

The State provides a wide range of support services to victims of human trafficking include accommodation, medical care and planning, psychological assistance, material assistance, legal aid and advice, vocational training and education. The Anti-Human Trafficking Team in the HSE develops individual comprehensive Care Plans for persons who are potentially victims of human trafficking addressing all of the support services that are required. My Department also provides funding to two NGO organisations, Ruhama and the Migrant’s Rights Centre of Ireland, who work with victims of human trafficking. A detailed Guide to the Procedures for supporting and protecting victims of human trafficking, along with other Guides and leaflets, are accessible on the dedicated anti-trafficking website www.blueblindfold.gov.ie.

The Government’s approach to the issue of Human Trafficking is set out in the National Action Plan to Prevent and Combat Trafficking of Persons 2009-2012 which set out 144 Actions to address this issue. A copy of the National Action Plan and a Review of the Plan are available on the dedicated Anti-Trafficking site www.blueblindfold.gov.ie. A new National Action Plan to cover the period from 2013 to 2016 is currently being drafted and will have regard to recent international evaluations of Ireland's response to human trafficking. These include the Report of the OSCE Special Representative which was published earlier this year, the US Trafficking in Persons (TIPs) Report which was published in June and ranked Ireland Tier 1 (the highest ranking available) for its efforts to combat human trafficking and the detailed Report of the Council of Europe expert group (GRETA) which will be available shortly. In addition to these international reports there will also be a process of consultation with other state agencies and civil society which will significantly inform the direction and content of the new National Action Plan.

The prevention and detection of human trafficking and the protection of its victims has been a policing priority for An Garda Síochána for the past number of years and it remains a priority in 2013. As the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 came into effect on 7 June 2008, there are no recorded figures of human trafficking prior to that date. Between 7 June and 31 December 2008, 36 reported victims of human trafficking were encountered by An Garda Síochána. On 1 January 2009, the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of my Department initiated a data collection strategy for the purpose of gaining a more in-depth understanding of the nature and extent of human trafficking in Ireland. To date, annual reports for subsequent years have been published and are available on www.blueblindfold.gov.ie, in addition to my Department’s website. The number of reported human trafficking victims is:

The Annual Report for Trafficking in Human Beings in Ireland for 2012 is currently being finalised and will be published shortly on www.blueblindfold.gov.ie. Preliminary figures indicate a total of 48 reported victims in 2012.