Vol. 522 No. 2
374 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will give special consideration to those who have been the victims of trafficking to this country, if they seek residence here as proposed in the EU recommendation. [17959/00]
I presume the Deputy's query relates to persons who are the victims of international trafficking for the purposes of sexual or similarly oppressive types of exploitation. The need to give special consideration to granting residence permission on a humanitarian basis to such persons has been identified in a number of international fora as an important element of an overall strategy to deal with this problem. While my Department has not dealt with such cases in recent times, it is aware that they can arise and I can assure the Deputy that any such case would be handled individually and on a sympathetic basis, taking into account all of the relevant circumstances.
I intend to keep this matter under ongoing review, having regard to developments at international level and in particular the proposed UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, which is currently being negotiated.
