Tusla and Department of Children to meet with gardaí on new system to identify trafficking victims
Currently, only gardaí can identify victims of human trafficking.
Gardaí, Tusla and the Department of Children will hold a meeting “shortly” as the next step in the implementation of a new system to identify victims of human trafficking.
Currently, only gardaí can identify such victims. However, operational guidelines are currently being drawn up for a new national referral mechanism, which will allow other frontline agencies to identify those who have been human trafficked.
More than 7,000 children were identified as victims of trafficking through the UK’s national referral mechanism in 2023. In comparison, just five child trafficking victims were identified in Ireland in the same 12-month period.
It is anticipated the rollout of the new referral mechanism will lead to an increase in the number of children and adults identified by frontline workers.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Children told the : “The department is working with the Department of Justice on child human trafficking and child exploitation and the department and Tusla are shortly convening a meeting with An Garda Síochána on child human trafficking and labour exploitation and the implementation of the national referral mechanism under the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking) Act 2024.”
“Further discussions are taking place between the department, Tusla and An Garda Síochána to discuss the issue of missing children in care. Concerns over suspected child trafficking and labour exploitation will also be discussed.”
Figures contained in the 2024 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime late last year, showed between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2023, 140 victims of human trafficking were detected in Ireland. The figure included at least 10 children. They also include at least one person who was trafficked here in 2022 for the purpose of the removal of their organs, for sale.
Last month, the fifth European Commission progress report on the Fight against Trafficking in Human Beings in the European Union listed Ireland among four member states who reported “very low” numbers of child trafficking victims, with Belgium, Spain and Austria. The findings showed 19% of all human trafficking victims in the EU were children — 10% above Ireland's reported rate.
The EC report said children in the EU were trafficked “for all forms of exploitation, mainly sexual exploitation, but also for forced criminality, forced begging, forced marriage and labour exploitation”.
The report noted Ireland and Slovenia “reported about increasing online fraud committed through forced criminality and about social security fraud”.
Ireland was among six EU member states who highlighted the specific vulnerabilities of seasonal workers to human trafficking.
