Tony McLoughlin (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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135. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of convictions there have been for human trafficking here since 2008; her views on the current legislation to tackle the issue; her plans to introduce stronger legislation in this regard; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16329/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of my Department initiated a data collection strategy from 1 January 2009, the results of which have been made available in Reports published annually since then and available at www.blueblindfold.gov.ie. These reports include details of convictions for human trafficking-related offences.

From 2009 until the end of 2015, there have been 48 persons convicted of human-trafficking related offences. 36 of these persons were convicted for offences under Section 3 of the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008, which relates to the trafficking, taking etc. of a child for the purposes of sexual exploitation. The remaining 12 were convicted for related offences including under the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998. Figures for 2016 are close to finalisation and can be provided to the Deputy in due course. These statistics do not include instances where suspected perpetrators of trafficking were prosecuted for other offences or where their illegal activities were disrupted by other means.

The main law in relation to trafficking in Ireland is The Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008. The 2008 Actcommenced in June 2008 and specifically prohibits trafficking for sexual and labour exploitation, including sex trafficking and forced labour. The 2008 Act also criminalises trafficking for the purpose of exploitation consisting of the removal of human organs. The Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) (Amendment) Act 2013 was enacted in July 2013 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 combatting trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA. Some of the main measures of the 2013 Amendment Act were as follows:

- to broaden the scope of the definition of ‘exploitation’ in the 2008 Act to include exploitation consisting of forcing a person to engage in criminal activities (inside or outside the State);

- to expand the definition of the term ‘labour exploitation’ to include forced begging;

- for clarity, to define the term ‘forced labour’ in line with the definition set out in International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention No. 29 of 1930 on Forced or Compulsory Labour;

Since the 2013 Amendment Act, there have been other legislative developments which are relevant to the fight against human trafficking

The Civil Registration (Amendment) Act 2014 was enacted on 4 December 2014. The Act contains a provision at section 18 to make it more difficult to broker a marriage of convenience thereby protecting vulnerable persons, usually women, from trafficking for the purpose of sham marriages.

The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017 was enacted on 22 February this year, with its main provisions commencing on 27 March. The Act was the most comprehensive and wide ranging piece of sexual offences legislation to be introduced in almost a decade, and makes it an offence for a person to pay, offer or promise to pay, a person for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity with a prostitute. The person providing the sexual service – the prostitute – is not subject to an offence. The purpose of introducing these provisions is primarily to target the trafficking and sexual exploitation of persons through prostitution. That Act contains, at Section 27, a commitment to Report to the Oireachtas within 3 years on the operation of these provisions.

Under the Second National Action Plan to Prevent and Combat Human Trafficking in Ireland, which I launched last October, there is a commitment to keep under review the adequacy of legislation to support the prosecution of traffickers. This Action is fulfilled through ongoing monitoring of the efficacy of the current legislation and appropriate consultation with An Garda Síochána, and is informed by our engagement a range of domestic NGOs and international organisations.