30 children trafficked in Ireland for sexual abuse

Fine Gael backbencher Marcella Corcoran Kennedy and Fianna Fáil justice spokesperson Niall Collins revealed the “shocking” figure as they urged renewed action to ensure children and teens of all backgrounds are given the protection they need.
Speaking during the morning debate on her private members bill which is seeking to specifically outlaw child grooming, an issue which will now be subsumed into the Government’s imminent wider sexual offences bill, Ms Corcoran Kennedy said despite high-profile cases most people are unaware of the scale of the crisis for some children in Ireland.
She said “shockingly” gardaí are aware of 30 children “detected over a two-year period” between 2013 and 2014, and that the general public is in the dark about the number of minors “who are being moved around our own country to be sexually exploited”.
Noting the paedophile ring crisis in Rotherham, Britain, last year which saw a group of men abuse more than 1,000 girls over a number of years, the Fine Gael TD said there is a clear threat to children and teenagers from grooming which cannot be ignored.
After raising the same concerns, Mr Collins said there is a “very sinister part of our own society” which is putting children at risk.
The comments came as all parties backed Ms Corcoran Kennedy’s bill to make child grooming a specific crime which could see offenders jailed for up to 14 years for contacting children online or by text – even if no physical meeting takes place.
Other changes called for in the bill – which will be subsumed into the Government’s wider sexual offences bill, due to be published in the coming days – include the right for gardaí to arrest Irish citizens here who travel abroad to abuse a child.
While paedophiles who groom children can be arrested under the existing 1998 Child Trafficking and Pornography Act, this can only be done after “two or more” online contacts and when a physical meeting takes place.
In addition, concerns have been raised over the fact the use of this law means child grooming is not specifically outlawed under its own legislation in Ireland, leading to the UN’s human rights committee ordering Government two weeks ago to address the gap within four months.
During the same Dáil debate, Sinn Féin TD Sandra McLellan said there is “significant concern in child protection sectors” that “resource issues” are preventing gardaí from adequately examining cases.
Grooming cases
In February last, 33-year-old high-risk sex offender Sean Johnson from Derbyshire in Britain was jailed for 10 months for holding talent shows to gain access to children in Galway and Cork.
In May 2014, Eamon Coughlan, from New Street in Corofin, Co Clare, was jailed for two years for befriending a boy in Cork through Facebook before physically travelling to his town to have sex with him.
In March, 2013, 44-year-old accountant Liam O’Brien, from Valley Park in Co Galway was jailed for three years for assaulting four young girls while they waited to play video games at his home.