The Joint Committee on Justice will meet for Pre-legislative scrutiny of the general scheme of the Criminal Justice (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking ) Bill 2022

The meeting will take place in Committee Room 1 of Leinster House at 3pm. 

The Committee will hear from representatives from:

·       Immigrant Council of Ireland

·       Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission

·       Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI)

·       Migrant Rights Centre Ireland

·       Professor Michael Breen, Professor Michael Healy, Dr Amy Healy – Researchers at Mary Immaculate College

·       Officials from the Department of Justice

Speaking ahead of the meeting, Committee Cathaoirleach Deputy James Lawless TD said “our meeting coincides with the recent actions from An Garda Síochána where they have stepped up efforts to tackle human trafficking across Ireland. They carried out two days of action targeting crime gangs only last week.

When this Bill is enacted it will mean the revised National Referral Mechanism (NRM) should make it easier for victims to come forward to seek protection and to access all of the support and resources that are available to them. The National Referral Mechanism is a framework for referring victims of human trafficking and ensuring they receive appropriate support.

We look forward to hearing from the stakeholders involved in this nationally important issue. We will look to use their extensive experiences to help our Committee make recommendations that the Department can actively implement.

The meeting can be viewed live on Oireachtas TV.

Read more on the work done by the Joint Committee on Justice

Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.