Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 October 2011
406 Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for Justice and Equality when he will have a decision as to whether the Criminal Justice (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 is sufficient to cover the offence of forced labour without the element of movement being required or if new legislation is needed to tackle the problem. [30989/11]
View answer407 Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if his attention has been drawn to the fact that Ireland is in breach of Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights by not having legislation to criminalise forced labour; the steps being taken to address same; when will it be addressed.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30990/11]
View answer420 Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if a new law is required to create the offence of forced labour; if existing legislation, the Criminal Justice (Human Trafficking) Act 2008, is sufficient to deal with this problem; and if the existing legislation is sufficient, the reason that it is not being used. [31211/11]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 406, 407 and 420 together.
Firstly, I should say that there has been no ruling that Ireland is in breach of Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights for not having legislation to criminalise forced labour. The Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 criminalises the trafficking of persons for the purposes of labour exploitation (including forced labour), sexual exploitation and exploitation consisting of the removal of a person's organs. For the purposes of the Act, the term "trafficks" is broadly defined. For example, the commission of an offence does not require cross-border movement or illegal entry into the State. It includes recruitment, taking a person into one's custody, care or charge, and providing the person with accommodation or employment. However, the legislation is primarily an anti-trafficking measure and was never intended to address any of the above exploitative phenomena outside the context of human trafficking.
This does not necessarily mean that a person subjected to forced labour but who has not been trafficked (or where trafficking is difficult to prove) does not have the protection of the criminal law. It is likely that activities constituting forced labour could be prosecuted under a range of offences, for example, false imprisonment, blackmail, assault, the coercion offence in the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997, offences under employment law and health and safety legislation, immigration law, etc.
Internationally, forced labour covers a diverse range of exploitative behaviours. The extent and nature of the phenomenon in this jurisdiction is unclear. At the request of my Department and with a view to establishing the exact nature of alleged abuses, the Garda authorities have recently completed an analysis of allegations of forced labour which have come to their attention. The results of the analysis are currently being examined in my Department so that any legislative and administrative measures required to address deficiencies can be identified. In the event that a need for additional legislative measures is established, proposals will be brought to Government in the usual manner.
