Ireland taken off human trafficking watchlist in latest US report 

Sinéad Gibney, chief commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission: 'While progress is going in the right direction, Ireland is starting from a very low base — ranked as one of the worst countries in Europe for our responses to trafficking. File picture:Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Ireland has been taken off a watchlist in the US State department's latest report on human trafficking.

The upgrade came after the country spent two years on the tier 2 watch list of the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report. Now, Ireland is still on tier 2 but off the watchlist.

The report, published on Tuesday evening, highlights moves by Ireland to address human trafficking, including the conviction of two women last September for the crime, as well as the granting of Government approval for the creation of a revised National Referral Mechanism to make it easier for victims of trafficking to come forward, be identified and access support.

That measure was also highlighted in a report published on Monday by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe on efforts being taken by member states to target the trafficking of people.

However, the TIP report criticises Ireland for not meeting required standards in a number of areas, including prosecuting fewer suspected traffickers and not prosecuting any labour traffickers.

It also says Ireland failed to uniformly screen for trafficking among vulnerable populations including sea fishers, before “referring them to immigration authorities for deportation, even when victims self-identified”.

The TIP report says failure to adopt measures including an overhaul of its accommodation framework for trafficking victims “continued to leave victims with inadequate and unsuitable accommodations.” The report said no child trafficking victims were identified by Ireland in 2021, similar to 2020.

Sinéad Gibney, chief commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, which holds the role as Ireland’s National Rapporteur on Human Trafficking, welcomed the upgrade for Ireland.

However, she warned: “While positive commitments have been made by the Government in relation to the urgent need for a modern National Referral Mechanism and a new national action plan, the real test will be their speedy implementation, their effectiveness, and a continued State prioritisation of real actions to tackle human trafficking.

"While progress is going in the right direction, Ireland is starting from a very low base — ranked as one of the worst countries in Europe for our responses to trafficking. Moving up a tier on this US ranking should not be seen as job done, when it's only job started.” 

She added: “It’s clear to us that key preconditions for an effective human trafficking response remain unfulfilled, including gender-specific accommodation for victims of trafficking. This is an essential practical arrangement that has to be established to put Ireland on track to fulfil its obligations to support victims of this heinous crime."

Following the publication of the TIP report, Justice Minister Helen McEntee said: “Human trafficking is an exploitive crime that preys on the vulnerable. I have been clear that there is no place for it in our society. We know vulnerable people are trafficked into Ireland for exploitation reasons, including sexual exploitation, forced labour and forced criminality.” 

She added: “We are confident that the victim-centred policy approach we are taking will, most importantly, encourage more victims to come forward and get help and support, but this in turn, should help us gather the information and evidence needed to strengthen prosecutions and convictions.” 

The TIP report from the US State Department is a measure to engage foreign governments on human trafficking and it rates states in a three-tier system based on their perceived efforts to acknowledge and combat human trafficking.

Dola Twomey of the Cork Sexual Violence Centre and the Cork Against Human Trafficking umbrella group said the upgrading of Ireland is “good news for the Irish government and the Department of Justice”.

But she said that the centre mentioned in the report which had been expected to be put in place for victims of sex trafficking is not progressed yet. And she said that the number to be catered for in the centre is much too small.