Gardaí last year identified 25 victims of sex trafficking in the State.
New figures provided by the Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee show there was a total of 44 human trafficking victims identified by Gardaí in the State last year.
In a written Dáil reply to Green Party TD Patrick Costello, Ms McEntee confirmed that 25 of the 44 concerned sex trafficking - 24 females and one male.
The remainder of the 44 trafficking victims comprised 19 people identified as victims of forced labour trafficking victims - 15 male and four female.
In her written reply, Ms McEntee stated that “human trafficking is a heinous crime based on deception and exploitation of vulnerable people. Combatting it is, and will continue to be, a priority for this Government”.
Garda resources
The Minister pointed out that a specialised Garda Unit, the Human Trafficking Investigation and Co-ordination Unit (HTICU), has been in place since 2009 to conduct investigations into human trafficking. “An Garda Síochána is also active in relation to trafficking gangs through work targeting organised crime - targeting their finances, their use of the internet and by working closely with other jurisdictions," she said.
Ms McEntee said that last year Government approved proposals to revise the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) to make it easier for victims of trafficking to come forward, be identified and access advice, accommodation and support.
She said the revised NRM will provide for all agencies, both State and civil society, to co-operate, share information about potential victims, identify those victims and facilitate their access to advice, accommodation and support.
