Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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179. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons arrested, prosecuted, and convicted of human trafficking in the State in each of the past ten years and to date in 2024. [41820/24]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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180. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of reports of human trafficking received by An Garda Síochána in each of the past ten years and to date in 2024. [41821/24]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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181. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she has undertaken to examine the rate of child trafficking in the State; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41822/24]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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182. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if her Department is aware of any instances of trafficking for organ harvesting in the State over the past decade; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41823/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 179 to 182, inclusive, together.

The prevention, detection and prosecution of the abhorrent crime of human trafficking is a priority for me as Minister for Justice and for this Government.

A number of significant measures have been taken to combat human trafficking, to create a more victim-centred approach to identifying and supporting victims, and to raise awareness and provide training for those who need it.

The new National Referral Mechanism was approved by Government in May 2021 and is a key component in combatting human trafficking. It provides for a number of agencies to be competent authorities identifying victims of human trafficking and for some NGOs to be designated ‘trusted partners’ and able to make referrals to the competent authorities. Legislation to put the revised NRM on a statutory footing was enacted during the summer.

The Third National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking, which I published last November, aims to work towards ending human trafficking in the State as a key element of building stronger, safer communities, and a number of government departments and agencies have significant roles to play in the implementation of the Plan.

I am informed by the Garda Authorities that the following table counts any charges/summons related to human trafficking created from 2015 to 2024 year-to-date:

As the Deputy will be aware, prosecutions are a matter for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). The DPP is wholly independent in the performance of her functions under the Prosecution of Offences Act 1974 (as amended) and, as Minister, I have no role in the operations, decision making process, governance or oversight of the Office of the Director. As a result I am unable to provide any statistical information related to the work of, or decisions taken by, the DPP.

Likewise, management of the courts, operational matters and logistical functions are the responsibility of the judiciary and Courts Service, which are independent in exercising their functions under the Courts Service Act 1998 and given the separation of powers in the Constitution. The Courts Service has a dedicated email address for the provision of information to members of the Houses of the Oireachtas at: and will be able to provide any information that is available to the Deputy in respect of the convictions enquired about. In order to be of assistance to the Deputy I have referred the question to the Courts Service for direct reply.

I am further informed by An Garda Síochána that the following table counts any incidents of Human Trafficking reported from 2015 to 2024 year-to-date:

Crime Counting Rules have been applied.

I should draw the Deputy’s attention to a change in 2017 in the recognition of cases of child sex abuse internationally as human trafficking - except in distinct circumstances as reflected in our domestic legal regime in certain offences under section 3(2) of the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998 as amended, and the offences under the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 and the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) (Amendment) Act 2013 – that has, from 2018 onward, resulted in lower numbers of child sex abuse victims being classified also as victims of human trafficking relative to previous years. The change ensures that only cases of child sex abuse that can correctly be defined as human trafficking are classified as such, since that date.

In relation to the information sought on the rate of child trafficking in the State, An Garda Síochána has advised that from 2020 – 2023 inclusive, four years, there have been a total of 11 children assessed as victims of human trafficking.

The Deputy may be interested to know that the identification and protection of child trafficking victims in Ireland is a key priority and while the majority of actions in the new National Action Plan on Human Trafficking relate to both adult and child victims, there are a number of child-specific measures included under each of the Plan’s pillars.

Finally, in relation to the Deputy's question concerning the crime of organ harvesting occurring within the State over the past decade, the Garda National Protective Services Bureau (GNPSB) advises that in the last decade the number of cases in relation to 'Human Trafficking – Removal of Organs' is below 10 and therefore too low to report.