Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 April 2013
891. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the total resources earmarked for combatting human trafficking in 2013: if he is satisfied with the resources being deployed to deal with human trafficking; if he will detail his approach to human trafficking; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16433/13]
View answerOver the past number of years strong legislative, administrative and operational measures have been put in place to combat and prevent trafficking in human beings. The Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008, with penalties of up to life imprisonment for human trafficking, has greatly strengthened the law in this area and further legislation to extend the categories of exploitation provided for in the 2008 Act has been approved by Government and will be brought before the Oireachtas in the near future.
A dedicated Anti-Human Trafficking Unit was established in my Department in 2008 with the purpose of ensuring that the State's response to human trafficking is coordinated and comprehensive. In addition to the dedicated Unit in my Department there are 3 other dedicated Units in State Agencies dealing with the issue: the Human Trafficking Investigation and Co-ordination Unit in the Garda National Immigration Bureau; the Anti-Human Trafficking Team in the Health Service Executive, and a specialised Human Trafficking legal team in the Legal Aid Board.
Dedicated personnel are also assigned to deal with the prosecution of cases in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and staff in the New Communities and Asylum Seekers Unit in the Department of Social Protection facilitates victims moving into mainstream social services. There are also a wide range of training and awareness raising activities on-going and extensive consultation structures exist with Non-Governmental Organisations, International Organisations and State Agencies.
I am satisfied with the resources committed to the fight against the trafficking of human beings into and within Ireland. This year, and for the past few years, An Garda Síochána, in its Annual Policing Plan, has identified trafficking in human beings as one of its priorities with an increased focus given to prevention and detection of human trafficking. The State provides a wide range of support services to victims of human trafficking, these include: accommodation, medical care and planning, psychological assistance, material assistance, legal aid and advice, vocational training and education. The Anti-Human Trafficking Team in the HSE develops individual Care Plans for persons who are potentially victims of human trafficking. These Care Plans include a range of issues including medical health, GP referral, counselling, psychological care, sexual health, material assistance, accommodation, training needs, education, etc. My Department also provides funding to two organisations, Ruhama and the Migrant’s Rights Centre of Ireland, who work with victims of human trafficking.
The Government’s approach to the issue of Human Trafficking is set out in the National Action Plan to Prevent and Combat Trafficking of Persons which set out 144 Actions to be undertaken to address this issue. A copy of the National Action Plan and a recently published Review of the Plan are available on the dedicated Anti-Trafficking site blueblindfold.ie. A new National Action Plan to cover the period from 2013 to 2016 is currently being drafted. In-depth reviews of Ireland’s response to human trafficking were carried out in 2012 by the Special Representative and Coordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) who visited in February and the Council of Europe Group of Experts on Action to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) who carried out a week long country visit in November. The Report of the OSCE Special Representative was published recently and the detailed Report of GRETA will be available in the first half of 2013. I have agreed that it is prudent that we await their views on our progress before we proceed to publish the new National Action Plan. The views of these international organisations, the developments at EU level, along with consultations with other state agencies and civil society will significantly inform the direction and content of the new National Action Plan.
