Victims of human trafficking here are not being guaranteed access to specialised lawyers, safe accommodation and proper supports, according to European Union-funded research which is due to be published today.

Convictions for sex trafficking in Ireland have doubled over the last five years - new statistics from the Immigrant Council show 10 people were found guilty in 2014.

There is a warning that Ireland could become a safe haven for human trafficking gangs, unless our laws keep pace with the North and Britain.

New figures show 30 prosecutions were taken in the last two years in relation to the trafficking of children for the purposes of sexual exploitation.

The number of reports of alleged racism received by the Immigrant Council of Ireland rose by 51% this year compared to 2013.

Women and girls trafficked into Ireland for sex are “raped on a daily basis” and find it very difficult to escape or get help.

Gerard Howlin’s contribution to the debate on racism (We Irish are not whiter than white. We have a long history of racism, Opinion, December 3) may have been uncomfortable reading, but it reflected a reality.

One of the failings of our systems for recording crime highlighted in the Garda Inspectorate Report (Irish Examiner, November 12) is the failure to accurately reflect levels of racism and hate crime.

A novel, awareness-raising campaign had unsuspecting users of a matchmaking mobile app thinking twice about the dark side of the dating game after they chanced upon on photographs of women trafficked into the sex trade.

The new campaign is being run by Dublin-based advertising agency EightyTwenty and the Immigrant Council of Ireland.

Anti-prostitution campaigners have warned that the North’s decision to criminalise the buyers of sex could mean more pimps choosing to base their prostitution operations south of the border.

The shortlist has been announced this morning for the IMAGE Businesswoman of the Year Awards.

Four frontline agencies have written to The Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald raising concerns about victims of sex-trafficking being placed in Direct Provision Centres across the country.

An important aspect of the current debate on direct provision which is being overlooked is the practice of placing suspected victims of sex trafficking in centres which are not safe or secure.

Grooming children for sexual exploitation should carry a maximum prison term of 14 years, a new law proposed by a backbench TD demands.

Campaigners have welcomed the intervention of former US president Jimmy Carter who has written to all TDs and senators urging them to act on proposed laws to criminalise people who pay for sex.

The Immigrant Council of Ireland has called on the Government to ensure that shortfalls in law are addressed in the new action plan on human trafficking promised for the autumn.

It was entirely appropriate for the Immigrant Council of Ireland to mark the first UN designated World Day Against Trafficking by urging the Government to ensure that shortcomings in Irish law are properly addressed in its new action plan on human trafficking to this country.

Young men tempted to go to a prostitute may get a shock reminder of the reality of sex trafficking when they are out drinking with friends.

Prostitution and drugs accounted for €1.258bn to the country’s economic activity last year, according to the Central Statistics Office, which is refusing to divulge how it estimates the economic impact of illegal activity.

The Immigrant Council of Ireland has said a more "integrated" response is needed in order to reduce the number of racist incidents across the country.

Ireland has been named as a "destination, source, and transit country" for people being trafficked for sexual and labour exploitation in a new US State Department report.

The article by Denise Charlton, chief executive of the Immigrant Council of Ireland, (Irish Examiner, June 16) is a welcome reminder of the Government’s failure to act on the recommendation of the Oireachtas Justice Committee to introduce legislation targeting the buyers of sex and those forcing women into prostitution as a matter of urgency.

Laws that target sex buyers and pimps can curb human trafficking and prostitution, writes Denise Charlton.

Migrant rights groups welcomed news that asylum seekers will be allowed to receive election literature, even though direct provision centres are still no-go zones for candidates.

Migrant rights groups today welcomed news that asylum seekers will be allowed to receive election literature - even though direct provision centres are still no-go zones for candidates.

Immigrant support groups have called for the lifting of a ban on political canvassing in direct provision centres.

Ireland’s sex trafficking trade is worth an estimated €250m a year, a new study shows.

€250m is made from sex-trafficking in Ireland annually, a new report reveals, and almost all buyers of sex are over 42.

There has been a dramatic rise in the number of reports of racism in the first two months of this year, compared with the same period last year.

68 groups involved in the 'Turn Off the Red Light' campaign will be lobbying politicians today to make it illegal to buy sex.

There has been a massive spike in reported racist incidents — including a petrol bomb attack and one incident where a boy, aged 9, was assaulted by a 30-year-old man — since the start of the year.

There has been a massive rise in the number of racist incidents reported since the start of the year, according to the Immigrant Council of Ireland.

A migrant advocacy group has warned that Irish children are becoming increasingly racist, as figures show almost one in every five cases of racial abuse is perpetrated by under 18s.

Almost a fifth of people responsible for racial abuse are children, new figures have revealed.

The number of people targeted by racist behaviour has almost doubled over the last year, new figures have revealed.

Justice Minister Alan Shatter has condemned hate mail sent to mosques and Muslim homes and organisations in the last week.

As police in Britain continue their probe into the enslavement of three women — one Irish — for 30 years, support groups here have urged greater focus on the potential of slavery in this country.

Scores of children were among the members of immigrant families who have been DNA-tested in the past two years.

Calls have been made for an independent inquiry into why two Roma children were “abducted” from their families by Irish authorities.

One in five people claiming unemployment benefit are non- Irish nationals from other EU countries — a quarter of them from Britain — according to a major report on the impact of unemployed migrants on social welfare budgets.

A report accusing Irish authorities of underestimating the true scale of human trafficking is a wake-up call for Government, campaigners said.

Pimps are pocketing millions of euro from trafficking and prostitution while politicians consider changing the law, it was claimed.