O’Connor: More checks on bags than children at airports

Sinéad O’Connor has hit out at poor security measures at ports and airports, saying that it is a “breeding ground” for traffickers with bags subjected to stricter scrutiny than children.

The outspoken singer made her comments after her male nanny transported her two sons unchallenged from Dublin to France to join her on tour.

“The bags are being checked better than the children in our airports and yet nobody in any government department knows whose remit this is,” said O’Connor, adding that there are a lack of legal safeguards to stop children being whisked out of the country by adults who are not their parents.

Efforts to find out which government department has responsibility for such anti-trafficking measures saw Irish Examiner queries shunted from the Department of Children to the Department of Justice to the Department of Foreign Affairs and even, at one point, to the Department of Transport.

None of the departments are taking responsibility for the lack of safeguards with the Department of Foreign Affairs saying it was a matter for justice’s anti-trafficking unit while Department of Justice officials said it is “not our role” and “our role in this area begins once a child is abducted”.

Adults are not being asked to present ‘permission to travel’ letters at points of exit as is recommended in the US and France. It is recommended these documents are countersigned by a notary or lawyer so that the signing parents and lawyer’s credentials can be double-checked if necessary.

Chief executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance, Tanya Ward, said: “Monitoring our ports of entry is the responsibility of the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB).

“It is critical that the gardaí carry out this role as effectively as possible to ensure that no child is at risk of trafficking or abduction.”

Ryanair and Aer Lingus say the only protocol they observe when children are travelling with them is that the child holds a photo ID or a passport.

Two years ago, a US government report categorised this country as “a destination, source, and transit country for women, men and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labour”.