Updated Fiche - Ireland

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1 Updated Fiche - Ireland Legislation/Laws The Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 creates offences of trafficking in adults for the purposes of sexual or labour exploitation or the removal of their organs with penalties of up to life imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. The 2008 Act also amended the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998 and added trafficking in children for the purposes of labour exploitation and the removal of organs to the offence of sexual exploitation provided for in the 1998 Act. The 2008 Act also raised the penalty for human trafficking from 14 years to life imprisonment and amended the definition of the age of a child from 17 to 18. Under the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act 2000 it is an offence for a person to organise or knowingly facilitate the entry into Ireland of another person whom that person knows or has reasonable cause to believe is an illegal immigrant. The penalty for this offence is a maximum of ten years' imprisonment, or an unlimited fine, or both. The Sexual Offences (Jurisdiction) Act 1996 allows for the prosecution of an Irish citizen, or a person ordinarily resident in the State, who commits an act in another country which is a sexual offence against a child in that other country and if done within the State, would constitute a sexual offence against a child in the State. The penalties are a maximum of 5 years imprisonment on conviction on indictment. The purpose of this legislation is to deter what is commonly referred to as sex tourism. The Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill 2010 provides for a period of recovery and reflection of 60 days in the State for suspected victims of trafficking and also, in circumstances where the person trafficked wishes to assist the Garda Síochána or other relevant authorities in any investigation or prosecution in relation to the alleged trafficking, a further six months period of residence, renewable, to enable him or her to do so. The Bill also provides that the Minister may make regulations prescribing a Recovery and Reflection Period exceeding 60 days where a person is under the age of 18 years. An administrative framework, entitled the Administrative Immigration Arrangements for the Protection of Victims of Trafficking, broadly reflecting the provisions in the Bill, was introduced on 7 June 2008 to provide for the period of recovery, reflection and residency in the State pending enactment of the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill. Amendments have been made to the Scheme earlier this year. These amendments include: (a) a procedure to allow a person to make an application to change to a longer term permission to remain in the State after 3 years of Temporary Residency Permissions or when the investigation/prosecution is complete (whichever is the shorter); (b) arrangements to issue a recovery and reflection period for persons under 18 years for periods in excess of 60 days having regard to the arrangements in place for the care and welfare of the child; 1

2 (c) a clarification that there is no right to family re-unification while on temporary residence permission (each case will be considered on its merits); (d) a provision for those victims of human trafficking, who have been refused asylum, to allow them to have the fact that they have been identified as a suspected victim of human trafficking to be taken into account in any consideration as to whether they may remain in the country under various immigration permissions. In such cases temporary residence permission under the Administrative Immigration Arrangements will automatically issue pending consideration of any other forms of immigration permission of which the person may wish to avail. National strategy National Strategy/National Action Plan On 10 June 2009 Ireland adopted the National Action Plan to Prevent and Combat Trafficking of Human Beings in Ireland The Plan outlines the measures which have already been undertaken across Government Departments and Agencies to address human trafficking. It also identifies areas which require further action and sets out the structures which bring Ireland into line with its international obligations. The Plan is divided into four main areas: Prevention of human trafficking; Awareness Raising; Protection of the Victim and Response to Child Trafficking. The National Action Plan is currently being reviewed in consultation with the relevant stakeholders. Coordination of anti-trafficking actions at a national level The coordination and consultation process in place in Ireland is closely modelled on the guidelines set out by the OSCE in their handbook on establishing National Referral Mechanisms. The structure of the consultation process is set out beneath. The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of the Department of Justice and Equality has the overall responsibility for coordinating anti-trafficking policies in Ireland. Much of the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit's work is conducted in close cooperation with a wide variety of governmental and non-governmental stakeholders. Cooperation between the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit and other organisations is primarily conducted through a number of different consultative groups. In total, the Unit is working with over 70 different organisations, nationally and internationally. High Level Group / Roundtable Discussions/ Working Groups In terms of overall coordination, an Interdepartmental High Level Group was established to recommend the most appropriate and effective responses to trafficking in human beings. The Group comprises senior representatives from various Government Departments and Public Sector bodies. Representatives of the High Level Group engage with NGO representatives by way of roundtable discussions held approximately every four months. There are 5 Working Groups in place focusing on the areas of child trafficking, awareness raising and training, labour and sexual exploitation and the national referral mechanism. These groups work to implement agreed priorities as set out in the National Action Plan to Prevent and Combat Trafficking of Human Beings in Ireland The Groups were initially set up in mid 2008 for a period of 18 months - 2

3 their Terms of Reference have been reviewed and updated to reflect developments over that period. Dedicated anti-human trafficking units In addition to the AHTU there are 3 other dedicated units dealing with this issue which includes the Human Trafficking Investigation and Co-ordination Unit in the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB), the Anti-Human Trafficking Team in the Health Service Executive (HSE) and a specialised Human Trafficking legal team in the Legal Aid Board (LAB). These units have been set up as a response to Ireland s international obligations to provide services to victims of the trafficking of human beings. Dedicated personnel are also assigned to deal with prosecution of cases in the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Office and in the New Communities and Asylum Seekers Unit in the HSE. The latter assist suspected victims who are not in the asylum system making the transition from Direct Provision accommodation to mainstream services for the duration of their temporary residency. Statement of Roles and Responsibilities A Statement of Roles and Responsibilities was completed in The purpose of this Statement is to outline the roles and responsibilities of all the relevant governmental non-governmental and international stakeholders are involved in (a) protecting potential and suspected victims of human trafficking and (b) combating trafficking in human beings. The Statement provides greater clarity in terms of the following the process of identification, the range of available services and assistance measures, how these services may be accessed and the part played by the relevant organisations at each of these stages. Guidelines for staff at the Department of Social Protection The Department of Social Protection circulated guidelines to its staff early in These guidelines are intended to advise staff in the Department of some of the indicators of human trafficking which they may come across in the course of their duties. It also includes details of how they should report any concerns. Train the trainers The IOM secured a contract in 2009 to develop, design and deliver a 'Train the Trainers' programme on behalf of the AHTU, which was subsequently rolled out to personnel in Government agencies likely to encounter victims of trafficking. The idea of the programme is that participants on the course train others in their organisations on the issues associated with human trafficking. Three 'Train the Trainer' courses have been completed with 39 participants from 13 different organisations: Department of Agriculture, Fisheries & Food, RIA, Irish Prison Service, Legal Aid Board, FÁS, Department of Social Protection, Department of Enterprise, Trade & Innovation, HSE, NERA, Department of Defence, Department of Transport, ORAC, Women's Health Project and GNIB. Funding to Civil Society Organisations In 2010, the Department of Justice and Equality provided 250,000 in funding to Ruhama - an NGO that provides assistance to women involved in prostitution and 3

4 female victims of sex trafficking. 8,500 was provided to the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland, an NGO that advocates on behalf of migrant workers and their families, for its work with victims of trafficking for the purposes of labour exploitation. Human trafficking trends in Ireland The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit began collecting standardised data concerning trafficking in human beings on 1 January The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit s data collection system has been modelled on a number of other data collection systems being piloted at European level. AHTU has thus far produced Annual reports for 2009 and 2010 which are available on the dedicated Government anti-trafficking website - The reports provide a statistical overview of the nature and extent of human trafficking in Ireland in terms of persons reported to An Garda Síochána and several NGOs working in the anti-human trafficking field. Summary The number of alleged victims of human trafficking has remained relatively stable over 2009 and 2010, though there was an overall increase in the number of persons encountered in 2010 (66 person in 2009 compared with 78 person in 2010). The majority of trafficking related investigations in 2009 and 2010 related to sexual exploitation (41 investigations relating to sexual exploitation in 2009 compared with 53 investigations in 2010). The 2 largest discernable groups of alleged victims are from Western Africa, principally Nigeria (39 in 2009 compared with 30 in 2010) and from the EU which increased significantly between 2009 and 2010 (6 in 2009 compared with 17 in 2010). The vast majority of both groups are female victims of sex trafficking. The number of minors encountered over 2009 and 2010 has also remained relatively stable with minors accounting for approximately 25% of the total number of those encountered in both years (17 persons in 2009 compared with 19 persons in 2010). The majority of alleged victims of trafficking in 2009 and 2010 were asylum seekers though this decreased somewhat in terms of overall percentages in 2010 (38 (60%) persons in 2009 compared with 36 (46%) in 2010). In a small number of instances, persons had no immigration permission and required regularisation in order to legally remain in Ireland. In such cases, persons were granted protection under the Administrative Immigration Arrangements for the Protection of Victims of Trafficking (11 persons in 2009 compared with 7 in 2010). Offenders Ireland has shown marked improvements in terms of its law enforcement efforts in recent years. An examination of AHTU Annual Reports for 2009 and 2010 show that by the end of 2009, 2 sets of files had been sent to the DPP concerning trafficking related offences compared with 7 sets of files sent to the DPP in In terms of prosecutions, 2 persons were prosecuted for trafficking related offences in 2009 compared to 5 persons in In terms of convictions, 1 person was convicted of a trafficking related offence in 2009 compared with 5 persons in Given the international nature of human trafficking, Ireland has placed considerable importance on cooperating with other EU Member States in combating trafficking in human 4

5 beings and in this regard marked improvement are also evident in the number of those prosecuted and convicted. An examination of AHTU Annual Reports for 2009 and 2010 show that by the end of 2009, 3 persons had been convicted for trafficking related offences compared to 7 persons in Future plans in terms of implementation of the Directive 2011/36/EU Ireland has opted into the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims and replacing Council Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA. The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit is in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General about the manner of implementation at present. The main purpose of this consultation is to obtain legal advice as to which measures are to be implemented administratively or legislatively. 3. Latest initiatives/activities related to anti-trafficking policy Awareness raising/training In January, 2011 the Department of Justice and Equality in the Republic of Ireland and the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland headed a joint North South relaunch of Ireland s and the UK s Anti-THB awareness raising initiative, the Blue Blindfold Campaign. This consisted in the Republic of Ireland of advertisements that were placed in the newspapers at the start and the end of the campaign. Promotional material such as posters leaflets, and bookmarks were circulated throughout the country to Garda (police) stations, libraries, Citizen s Information Centres, Health Centres and Vocational Educational Committees. A wide range of presentations have been made to various educational groups, hotel groups etc, and articles and advertisements placed in various magazines. Awareness raising material focusing on sexual and labour exploitation were prepared and distributed to 2400 General Practitioners (doctors) throughout Ireland. The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit and the Garda National Immigration Bureau did a joint presentation at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in July, 2011 for staff being posted abroad. The DFA have agreed to include awareness raising on human trafficking in the pre-training programme for all staff being posted abroad from 2011 onwards. Law enforcement (policy and training) Human trafficking is a policing priority in 2011 with training now having been provided to over 25% of front line police involved in mainstream policing. Training is also being provided to Ethnic Liaison Officers on human trafficking so they can outreach to immigrant communities. Review of the National Action Plan In order to ensure that Ireland s policies are working effectively, the National Action Plan to Prevent and Combat Trafficking in Human Beings which was published on the 10 June 2009 is currently being reviewed. The review involves a consultation process with relevant stakeholders. Following the review the Plan will be updated in 5

6 the light of the consultation in order to take account of changing circumstances, new issues and our growing experience in this area. 4. The most important challenges you face at national level. Forced labour and human trafficking Ireland is currently examining the issue of forced labour to establish the precise nature of the phenomenon and whether Ireland is fully compliant with our international obligations. To this end, An Garda Síochána (Irish Police) is conducting a detailed analysis of the cases where forced labour is alleged. The analysis will help to identify any particular problems and should provide an evidentiary basis for any legislative and/or administrative measures, if any, that are required. 6