Gardaí probe 47 claims of labour trafficking but no prosecutions follow
Support groups say the legal requirement on gardaí to prove trafficking set the “bar too high” and that the focus should be on the crime of forced labour.
The Migrants Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) said it was awaiting a promised decision by Justice Minister Alan Shatter as to whether or not the law needed to be changed in the area.
The offence of human trafficking for labour exploitation came in to effect with the passing of The Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008.
Mr Shatter told the Dáil that gardaí had investigated 47 cases of alleged trafficking for labour exploitation: 19 in 2009; 19 in 2010; and nine up to September of this year.
But he said that “no proceedings” have been taken. He said gardaí had submitted files on three cases to the DPP. He had directed no prosecutions be taken in two and asked for additional information in relation to a third.
Mr Shatter said that for proceedings to begin there had to be evidence of the crime. “In a number of cases under investigation by An Garda Síochána insufficient evidence of human trafficking has been established to allow proceedings be commenced.”
Gráinne O’Toole of MRCI said the requirement, in terms of evidence, to prove trafficking was “too high a bar” to reach. “We feel the focus of the Government and the police should be on the crime of forced labour. Trying to prove cross border movement of a worker is very complex.”
She said often a worker may appear to consent to travel or may have valid work permit, and that some might even pay to travel.
“The worker might consent to a certain job and conditions, but when they get here the job is totally different. In that situation, the consent is invalidated. The police have to prove deception in cross-border movement and by that stage the people under investigating have disappeared.
“If the focus is forced labour itself, the police could go into a place of employment, assess the situation and investigate forced labour. That would be the easiest thing to do.”
* Contact MRCI on 01 8897570 or mrci.ie.
