As the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 came into effect on 7 June 2008, there are no recorded figures for victims of human trafficking prior to this date. Between 7 June and 31 December 2008, 36 alleged victims of human trafficking were encountered by An Garda Síochána. No further breakdown of the 2008 figures is available.
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 2009, 2010 and 2011 have been published and are available from Ireland’s dedicated anti-human trafficking website, www.blueblindfold.gov.ie
, in addition to my Department’s website. The demographic information regarding reported human trafficking for the years 2009, 2010 and 2011 is set out as follows.
Table: 2009
Gender
|
Irish nationals
|
Foreign nationals
|
Adult female
|
0
|
46
|
Adult male
|
0
|
3
|
Child female
|
0
|
11
|
Child male
|
0
|
6
|
Total
|
0
|
66
|
2010
Gender
|
Irish nationals
|
Foreign nationals
|
Adult female
|
0
|
48
|
Adult male
|
0
|
11
|
Child female
|
2
|
11
|
Child male
|
4
|
2
|
Total
|
6
|
72
|
2011
Gender
|
Irish nationals
|
Foreign nationals
|
Adult female
|
0
|
39
|
Adult male
|
0
|
5
|
Child female
|
4
|
5
|
Child male
|
2
|
2
|
Total
|
6
|
51
|