Minister vows to legislate slave loopholes

A GOVERNMENT minister has pledged to plug any legislative gaps to protect workers following concerns raised after the discovery of an alleged slave camp in Britain.

The Migrants Rights Centre of Ireland (MRCI) claimed its workers had uncovered some 150 cases of forced labour in recent years, but officials were constrained in intervening due to a lack of legislation over prosecuting abusers.

Jan O'Sullivan, the junior minister with responsibility for trade and development, said she was surprised to hear that cases of forced labour were being perpetrated in Ireland. Launching an Africa-Ireland economic forum in Dublin, she vowed to address concerns that laws were insufficient to punish offenders abusing workers.