Residency permits urged for victims of trafficking

THE Government is being urged to grant temporary residency permits to women who have been trafficked into Ireland.

Fine Gael MEP Simon Coveney said new immigration and anti-trafficking legislation proposed by Justice Minister Michael McDowell should provide for victims to stay here while their cases are investigated.

Mr Coveney presented a report on human trafficking to the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee yesterday. He said European governments should not lose sight of the fact that people who are trafficked are victims.

“People are trafficked into various situations, but mainly into labour or sexual exploitation. Human trafficking is rooted in poverty. The victims, usually women, are forced into dangerous, illegal or abusive work.

“Many of the women who are trafficked are heading for a life of prostitution. They are often promised jobs and a better life but end up working against their will in the sex industry, living in fear of the police, their pimps and the authorities who might send them back,” he said.

In the report he urged EU member states to implement the Council Directive on Residence Permits so that temporary residence can be granted.

Ireland is one of six countries which has not ratified the Council of Europe Convention against Trafficking.