Progress has finally been made in the fight against the crime of human trafficking

It could be the man who works on the farm down the road or the teenager who cleans your room while you're staying at the hotel.

Once again, hidden in plain sight.

These people, who may only be a brief part of your daily life, could be hiding a secret you are not aware of: they are among the hundreds of people suspected of being trafficked into Ireland each year to work in Ireland's booming sex trade or the country's underground economy.

Ireland is two days away from passing legislation that will introduce a new National Referral Mechanism (NRM), through the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking) Bill 2023. It will be signed into law on Wednesday, before the end of the Dáil term. It is hoped that the measure will encourage people trapped in homes and industries by trafficking gangs to confront their fears and come forward to seek help and freedom from the clutches of those who control their lives and bank accounts.

Hidden victims

Until now, victims of human trafficking in Ireland can only be formally identified by the police. Following the introduction of the new mechanism, other government agencies and NGOs will be involved in formally recognising victims, with industry agencies expecting an increase in reporting as a result.

The current system was singled out last week in the US State Department's report on human trafficking, released two days before a conference in Cork involving the Gardaí, the PSNI and the Santa Marta organisation set up ten years ago by Pope Francis.

The report states, in relation to Ireland’s 2023 performance on human trafficking, that “the Government failed to convict any traffickers for trafficking and instead relied on non-trafficking laws that may have, at times, resulted in inadequate penalties and never convicted a trafficker for labour trafficking under its anti-trafficking law. Systemic gaps in victim identification, referral and assistance persisted; the Government did not amend its NRM [national referral mechanism] and, therefore, did not identify any Irish nationals as victims.”

The reason why Ireland is being criticised for failing to deliver the long-awaited NRM was detailed with shocking figures from both sides of the border at the Cork conference last week.

In contrast to the only prosecution and two ongoing investigations in the Republic into human trafficking, the PSNI reports receiving 501 reports of this crime through its national reporting mechanism last year.

Jon Boutcher, PSNI Chief Constable, said: “In the last 12 months we have seen 501 reports to the PSNI involving 38 different nationalities. A significant number of these are from sub-Saharan countries. There is no place beyond the reach of this crime.”

He continued: “Over the last 12 months we have focused on seven organised crime groups involved in human trafficking and modern slavery. I would say that four of these groups have been significantly impacted in their ability to commit these horrific crimes. The two highest risk groups are currently undergoing criminal proceedings. We have rescued at least 50 people from these groups and we are working closely with the Garda on a number of these operations.”

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris knows that the corresponding figures for the Republic are far from the reality of the situation regarding human trafficking and exploitation south of the border.

He admitted: “When we see what is being reported through the reporting mechanisms in Northern Ireland, we must be in a similar position. The NRM that is being put in place will make a big difference in terms of what we know and the statistics that we have and therefore where we want to focus our efforts.”

He added: “It covers a number of areas: exploitation through prostitution, exploitation through labour, but also criminal exploitation. And that's what's happening in Ireland.”

He continued: “It is a crime that does not respect borders, it is a crime that generates enormous amounts of money, the second largest crime in the world after drugs in terms of criminal revenue, and it is something that should concern us all, especially because it is so degrading to human beings.”

He said there had been situations where neighbours had noticed something about someone that raised concerns about the possibility of trafficking, including seeing a person doing household chores and never leaving the premises, day after day, “working away, from early morning until late at night”.

Claim for compensation

In its response to the report published last week by the US State Department, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission strongly called for the establishment of a compensation model for victims of human trafficking in Ireland.

In its capacity as National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, the Commission calls on the State to explore the possibility of setting aside funds for compensation to victims, partly from the confiscated proceeds of trafficking and other related offences. It recommends that the Law Reform Commission take into account the specific needs of victims of trafficking in its consideration of compensation.

Chief Constable Boutcher has previously worked on investigations in the UK targeting human traffickers.

He said he saw what the victims went through in those cases, describing the conditions as degrading.

He is keen to stress that the current debates on immigration in several European countries must not have an impact on the way countries treat victims of trafficking.

“Immigration is a key debate in current elections around the world.

Immigration should not be confused with people trying to escape the terrible experiences they have had of being exploited.

“We have to make sure that doesn’t happen. Fortunately, most of the people in this room have probably never been victims of, or even witnessed, such crimes. We are very lucky. Not everyone is as lucky as we are. In Ireland, Northern Ireland or the United Kingdom, not everyone is as lucky as we are.”

The introduction of the NRM is a key step in allaying criticism of the Republic’s progress in combating human trafficking at a time of mass movement of people around the world. However, it is clear that there is still some way to go, with the enactment of the new bill on Wednesday being the first step.