Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 10 Apr 2024

Vol. 1052 No. 2

EU Police Co-operation: Motion

Minister for Justice (Deputy Helen McEntee)

I move:

That Dáil Éireann approves the exercise by the State of the option or discretion under Protocol No. 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to take part in the adoption and application of the following proposed measure:

Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on enhancing police cooperation in relation to the prevention, detection and investigation of migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings, and on enhancing Europol’s support to preventing and combating such crimes and amending Regulation (EU) 2016/794,

a copy of which was laid before Dáil Éireann on 21st December, 2023.

I thank the House for facilitating this motion today. I welcome the opportunity to address the Dáil on Ireland's opt-in to a new EU proposal for a regulation on enhancing police co-operation in relation to the prevention, detection and investigation of migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings, and on enhancing Europol's support to preventing and combating such crimes and amending Regulation (EU) 2016/794, which is the Europol regulation.

Ireland has an option, provided for in Article 3 of Protocol 21 annexed to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to opt-in to individual proposals in the area of freedom, security and justice. The protocol provides that Ireland has three months from the date a proposal is presented to the Council to notify the Presidency of the Council of its wish to take part in the negotiation, adoption and application of the measure. The exercise of this opt-in is subject to the approval of both Houses of the Oireachtas, with the three-month period for this proposal ending on 17 April.

The European Commission published this proposal for a regulation in November of last year, with the intention to enhance police co-operation in the fight against migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings. The Commission is also seeking to amend certain provisions of the Europol regulation.

Europol is the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation. Its mission is to support EU member states in preventing and combating all forms of serious international and organised crime, cybercrime and terrorism. With regards to migrant smuggling, it is clear that smuggling to and within the EU is reaching new heights. In 2023 alone, it is estimated that there were 380,000 irregular entries at EU borders - the highest levels since 2016. This represents a continuing multi-year surge in migration. It is estimated that 90% of irregular migrants entering the EU have made use of smugglers. Globally, it is estimated that smuggling networks generate between 4 billion to 6 billion euro every year in revenue from this illicit activity. Although people willingly pay smugglers to help them cross borders, they generally do so at great personal risk. Migrant smugglers often use violence or the threat of violence against irregular migrants to ensure their compliance or to force them to pay smuggling fees. Migrants are often endangered by the methods used by smugglers to move them across borders. Unfortunately, we have seen the challenges and the very severe risks people take when they opt for this route. This heinous crime takes a staggering humanitarian toll. Too many lose their lives or are at risk of serious harm or exploitation, such as the risk of being trafficked.

There is no doubt that migrant smuggling has far-reaching consequences for the migrants themselves. Their vulnerability is exploited by criminal networks that disrespect human life simply in the pursuit of profit. This is also an issue for the security of our jurisdiction and the EU. This common and complex challenge requires common and multifaceted solutions. The European Commission has therefore put forward this proposal for an EU regulation as part of a package of measures to modernise the legal framework to fight migrant smuggling. The regulation is accompanied by a proposal for a directive on preventing and countering the facilitation of unauthorised entry, transit and stay, by which Ireland is automatically bound, and by a global alliance to counter migrant smuggling.

The new directive will allow EU member states to effectively prosecute and sanction organised criminal networks responsible for migrant smuggling; harmonise legislation and penalties; and expand jurisdiction to cases in which non-EU nationals lose their lives. The global alliance to counter migrant smuggling will focus on prevention and alternatives to irregular migration, including addressing the root causes of irregular migration and facilitating legal pathways, as a key deterrent to smuggling. Together, this package of measures will ensure the necessary legal and operational tools are in place to mitigate this worsening crime.

I will now provide more detail about the specific element of this package of measures that is under discussion today, the proposed regulation to enhance police co-operation in the fight against migrant smuggling. This regulation will step up the prevention, detection and investigation of migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings by strengthening interagency co-operation and co-ordination at EU level; improving information-sharing; and reinforcing the support available from member states and Europol.

The regulation will establish in law the European centre against migrant smuggling at Europol as a Union centre of expertise for combating migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings. It provides for the composition of this centre, which will bring together Europol staff, representatives of each member state, liaison officers from Eurojust, which is the EU Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation, and Frontex, which as we know is the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, and may also include representatives involved in Union operational priorities in this area.

The tasks of this centre will include providing strategic analyses and threat assessments; supporting the implementation of strategic and operational priorities; monitoring trends in migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings; identifying cases that may require advanced operational support; co-ordinating, organising and implementing investigative and operational actions to support individual member states; and supporting the co-ordination, co-operation and exchange of information among member states.

Under the proposed regulation, each member state will be obliged to designate a national specialised service to prevent and combat migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings. In Ireland, this already exists within the Garda National Immigration Bureau. These specialised services will collect and share all relevant information about criminal investigations into migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings, using Europol's secure information exchange network application, SIENA, database. As such, this regulation will reinforce Europol as the EU information hub on migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings. This will enable Europol and member states to enhance our situational awareness, which is needed if we are to tackle this phenomenon effectively.

As I have previously mentioned, this regulation also seeks to amend the Europol regulation. The proposal, as published, will place the existing concept of operational task forces on a legislative footing; extend Europol's mandate to include the violation of Union-restrictive measures; and provide a legal base for Europol staff to carry out non-coercive investigative measures, where requested by a member state and authorised by the Europol executive director.

The regulation also provides that a member state may request, in accordance with its national law, Europol deployment for operational support on its territory to make use of the analytical, operational, technical, forensic and financial support provided by Europol to prevent and combat crimes falling within Europol’s objectives. Such Europol deployments for operational support will draw from a reserve pool of member states’ experts, to be established under this regulation. The details of this reserve pool remains to be finalised as negotiations progress. It is envisaged that it will include, for example, specialists in criminal analysis, forensics, investigation, languages and co-ordination. That is why we are opting in now. It is so that we have a say in that process and can contribute to what the final outcome will be.

In order to fulfil the objectives of the regulation, the Commission is proposing to increase the financial and human resources of Europol. It is estimated that an additional budget of around €50 million and around 50 additional posts would be needed for the overall period of the current multiannual financial framework from 2021 to 2027. This will come from the Union budget and ensure that Europol has the necessary resources to carry out fully and effectively the new tasks described in the regulation.

As migrant smuggling and trafficking continues to worsen, we are committed to stepping up our fight against the criminal networks who take advantage of human vulnerability, in pursuit of profit. To do this, we must ensure our legislative measures are fit for purpose. This proposal for a regulation will help us to ensure that police services across the EU, including our own An Garda Síochána, can co-operate with one another to the greatest extent to combat this dreadful crime.

The Office of the Attorney General has advised that there are no legal impediments or constitutional obstacles to Ireland electing to opt in, participate and be bound by this measure pursuant to Protocol 21.

My officials will continue to participate actively in the negotiations at working party meetings, and to consult relevant stakeholders in other bodies and agencies to ensure the final text of the regulation works well for Ireland and the EU as a whole. Again, that is why we are here today. If we do not opt in now, our own officials' opinions and views on how this should be rolled out effectively cannot be taken into consideration. By opting in to the measure, we will join our European colleagues to help to solve, or try to solve, this collective challenge. Therefore, the Government has no hesitation in commending this motion to the House.

In a nutshell, this measure seeks to make sure we codify so much of what happens at European level already. It will make sure we have enhanced co-operation between An Garda Síochána and all the police forces across Europe. Above all, it makes sure we tackle organised crime groups that are preying on vulnerable people who are losing their lives, whether in the ocean or coming in through container tanks or trucks. We have seen this on our own shores here in Ireland. We need to do everything we can to stop it at the source and stop these organised crime groups while at the same time continuing our work in making sure we have an immigration system that is fair, firm and effective and supports people who genuinely need our help. In addition, we must work with countries outside the EU to deal with the root cause and make sure that when it come to the reasons people are seeking a better life, we can try to support those countries to develop their economies and encourage their younger people to stay and try to deal with some of the crises we are seeing, particularly in conflicts across the world. I urge and request colleagues to support our opting in to this measure.

Deputy Pa Daly

This motion is coming fairly late to us given that the deadline is approaching very soon, on 16 April. I would have preferred that we would have had more of a lead-in time. I accept what the Minister said in her opening statement. We note that smuggling networks generate €4 billion to €6 billion every year. While people are paying the smugglers, there is great personal risk attached to that and there is a threat of violence. The Minister attended the Ruhama briefing. We know the good work Jackie Blanchfield and her team do there. We see the coal face of the problems and the exploitation caused by these people smugglers. I accept what the Minister is saying about the new directive allowing EU member states to prosecute and sanction organised criminal networks responsible for this smuggling. The harmonisation of legislation and penalties in this motion is welcome.

Expanding the jurisdiction to cases where non-EU nationals lose their lives is also important, as is stepping up the prevention, detection and investigation of migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings. The regulation will enforce Europol's role in interagency co-operation in the fight against migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings. It is an important measure because we know that traffickers are responsible for a huge number of deaths, including all the people who die when they risk their lives to cross the Mediterranean in particular. Traffickers abandon people at the first sign of trouble, despite all the money that is paid to them. Trafficked people are then obliged to engage in forced labour, such as what is seen by Ruhama, including some sex work to pay off what is often an imaginary debt, with their documents seized and a number of threats made against them not to alert the authorities.

All of these opt-in procedures are most serious. We do not want to have to rush through significant decisions, and the adoption of all the EU proposals is not guaranteed. We should not walk blindly into accepting everything in this pact that will be forthcoming in the next few weeks and that is being voted on today. It does not make any sense to give resources and decision-making powers away to the EU, or to take more applicants, when we cannot safely and comfortably accommodate some of those who are already here. This morning and last night, I passed Sandwith Street where people are living in tents in the current weather conditions. It is important that we do not set ourselves up to fail by not being able to comply with some of the regulations and EU proposals that are coming down the tracks. The State and the Government should not blindly adopt or opt into every single one of those. We should only opt in to laws where the State could not otherwise act and EU-wide action is in Ireland's interest. We must have control over our borders and sovereignty. While Eurodac will help with some family reunifications, for example those involving unaccompanied minors, it is important there should be a full and proper debate in this House, not just at the justice committee, including taking questions relating to this issue.

Within the whole section of justice policy, many items relating to EU law and Ireland's relationship with it need to be examined. Those laws are all incredibly important but, sometimes, over the past few years, they have not been given the scrutiny and attention they deserve, especially those relating to the movement of people. In recent years, the Government has developed papers and reports. These date back to the justice committee report of, I think, the Thirty-second Dáil, which contained proposals for solutions within the asylum system for accommodating protection applicants. Three years ago, there was a proposal that there would be more State involvement, but it seems that has now been repackaged into what is being made out to be a new proposal when it clearly is not. If a proper State-led system had been introduced as regards integration a few years ago, we might not have had all the protests. State-led accommodation could have been tailored to provide for single people, male and female, and families in properly constructed buildings in the same venue. We might not then have had all the problems with nursing homes, old hotels and the like, which has fuelled some of the outrageous and bizarre conspiracy theories that seem to be going around. I am sure the Minister has heard them. I certainly have.

Nothing was done over the past few years to implement the State-led proposal, which was suggested as one of the solutions three years ago. The proposal is still fairly opaque on how it will be implemented, including whether housing bodies or the State will be involved. Our views on the integration of accommodation have been very clear for quite some time. Our 2020 manifesto mentioned that it is important to avoid the failed policies that have fostered resentments and tensions in other countries.

Successive Governments have failed to deliver on housing and health. They alone are responsible for that. All states must manage migration and have functioning rules and regulations that everyone understands and that serve everyone in the country well. The vast majority of the forthcoming EU asylum pact is not in Ireland's interest and we will vote against it when it comes before this House.

On the commitment outlined in the 2020 manifesto, we believe it is important to have a commitment to global solidarity, human rights and justice, which is perfectly compatible with any stance on migration.

The illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine has put further pressure on the accommodation system. Taking into account the fact the number of international protection applicants has increased since then, it would have been easier to deal with the surge had it not been for that despicable invasion.

We want to be steadfast in our commitment to and solidarity with those affected by war and conflict globally and in our opposition to militarisation and interventionism, which has fuelled displacement and conflict.

We do not believe in conceding completely to Europe the power to set policies, threatening Ireland with infringement proceedings, when we should be able to manage things on the basis of the democratic mandate of the government of the day. We should opt in to laws where the State cannot otherwise act and where the EU action is in Ireland's interest. We need to evaluate migration and asylum proposals on the basis of a system that is fair, efficient and enforced.

We recognise international co-operation is necessary to combat the crimes mentioned in the proposal. We will support the motion, given the difficulties and threat to the State from money laundering, drug dealing, people trafficking and smuggling organised by these criminal gangs, who increasingly co-operate among themselves.

Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

We in the Labour Party welcome this proposal. The issue of human trafficking is one to which, historically, the State has not given due attention. It must be said there have been a good few initiatives, mostly from EU level, in recent years that made some headway. I think, for example, of the EU directive on preventing and combating human trafficking and protecting its victims, which was debated in the House this time last year and which received unanimous support. I expect this proposal will receive the same.

It is an area my Labour Party colleagues and I have been out on in the past. The Labour Exploitation and Trafficking (Audit of Supply Chains) Bill put forward by myself and Deputies Nash and Sherlock was debated on Second Stage in September. That Bill would mandate firms to report annually on the measures they have taken to ensure production of the goods and services they sell does not involve exploitative practices, including human trafficking, at any point in the supply chain. It received cross-party support and is awaiting Committee Stage.

We ask Government to give that priority, particularly as there is now some wind in the sails of human rights obligations in business supply chains. Last month, the European Parliament's legal affairs committee, under the leadership of the S&D group, approved the corporate sustainability due diligence directive, which contains similar provisions and aims to the Labour Party's Bill. That Bill would be Ireland's first legislation regulating corporate activity in respect of labour exploitation and trafficking. That speaks to the lack of attention paid to human trafficking generally. It has not been given the same degree of attention in Ireland as other crimes with an international element, such as drug smuggling. We need to move on it. We are one of the most open and globalised economies in the world. We rely heavily on global supply chains and, as such, have a particular moral obligation to ensure the legal frameworks are in place for due diligence and accessibility mechanisms to prevent abuses of human rights and labour rights.

Big firms, household names in many instances, have got away with turning a blind eye to human rights abuses in their supply chains for too long. France was the first EU member state to introduce such laws, in 2017. Germany and Norway followed suit in 2021, and parliamentary processes are under way in several more of our EU neighbours. We need to keep the ball rolling and progress the Labour Party's Bill.

Turning to the broader issues of human trafficking and the proposal, it is important we recognise this is a crime whose victims are among the most vulnerable people. It is an especially nefarious crime in that regard.

Compassion for those directly affected needs to be at the centre of our response to this issue, and raising public consciousness of it needs to elevate the voices of victims. The most recent data shows there were 42 cases officially accepted in the national referral mechanism for victims of trafficking in 2022, the majority of whom were female and trafficked for sexual exploitation. Labour exploitation was the second-highest purpose and the majority was comprised of male victims. In reality, and this is borne out in numerous studies, the actual number of people trafficked into Ireland is much higher - as much as 40% higher. That is the hidden nature of this crime.

At EU level, we are now at the point where the numbers of people being trafficked into Europe are the highest they have been since 2016. The obvious international element of this crime means it requires a strong international response, particularly in the context of the global instability we are seeing at present. This instability creates the conditions for vulnerable people to be preyed upon and forces desperate individuals and families trying to escape desperate situations into the hands of traffickers. More than 90% of those who come to Europe irregularly do so with the assistance of people smugglers. Ultimately, operational activities to combat migrant smuggling and trafficking are the responsibility of individual member states, with supports from various EU agencies such as Europol and Frontex, and we accept that. It is welcome that this proposal aims to strengthen Europol's operational capacity within member states, and especially its co-operation with third countries, but we need to see a more co-ordinated and integrated response among EU member states where possible such as in data and information sharing, notwithstanding some improvements in recent years. We hope this proposal results in that aim.

I will make one final point. When I spoke last year on the directive of preventing and combating human trafficking, I raised the issue of social media platforms, the Internet being utilised by traffickers, and how it is far too easy for social media companies to ignore their responsibility in that regard. The European Migrant Smuggling Centre is responsible for monitoring the online presence of traffickers and I am glad to see that this proposal will strengthen the centre's regulatory framework and will establish it in law within Europol. That is a welcome development. Ireland is home to many of these big social media companies, so it is imperative we work closely with the EMSC to combat the online activity of traffickers and not allow those companies to simply turn a blind eye to it, as they have too often been allowed to do in the past.

Deputy Catherine Murphy

I will speak directly to this motion and will not stray into the issue of the EU migration pact, which is not on the agenda today. Migrants make up a significant share of people who have been detected as trafficked into forced labour, which can be more properly described as modern day slavery. It is a lucrative area for criminal networks that engage in this activity, as the Minister has already outlined. The risks increase when migration is disorderly, both when migrants are on the move but also around the circumstances after they arrive. While it is necessary to prevent, detect and investigate what is a trade in human beings, this requires the strengthening of interagency co-operation and co-ordination at EU level. We agree this is necessary but it also requires us not to see Europe as somewhere out there, as it were, but instead to consider what we are doing very carefully so as not to be contributors to this misery. One of the things called for by this motion is the improving of information sharing. By offloading to the private sector responsibility for housing migrants, including the management of people in those centres, which we are currently doing, it makes it very difficult, if not impossible, to share information simply because we cannot share information we do not have. We need to remember at all times that those who are being trafficked are often young but, in the vast majority of cases, are also vulnerable. Shockingly, there are currently 317 children under the age of 17 or younger missing in Ireland. Many of those would have been migrants who were unaccompanied minors. A particular focus is needed here.

I mention an article written by John Mooney in The Sunday Times last year where he highlighted some of the risks we are not properly managing. The articles states the Garda believes organised crime gangs are exploiting the immigration crisis to generate income and launder money in what is now considered a highly lucrative form of illegal activity. The article refers to one group taking advantage of the relaxation in planning laws to become involved in accommodation centres. He goes on to state, "Experts say Ireland has now become a primary route for illegal migration into Britain."

Anna Sergi, a University of Essex expert on transnational crime, said government support to help migrants presented multiple opportunities for organised crime. She added, "The supports are usually handled through emergency protocols, which at times means less controls and controls that are enforced after tenders have been allocated." She further added that Irish gangs are replicating what is happening across Europe, where immigration has become a lucrative source of criminal revenue. She added:

The mafia in Rome is essentially co-ordinating the contracts for food and accommodation for refugee centres. The key to understanding what is happening is to understand that the allocation of emergency funds is open to abuse.

We have to take that very seriously.

In the same article, Dave McInerney, a retired garda who worked in the immigration system and with ethnic minorities, urged the Government to be mindful of the risks posed by such crime groups to the immigration system. He said:

This area presents lots of opportunities to criminals, both Irish and foreign. Criminals have been exploiting weaknesses in the migrant system for years, but it could get worse as the issue grows.

The article went on to say that victims of human trafficking are often too afraid of being deported to contact the authorities to report exploitation. A very clear thing we can do is make sure people are not penalised for coming forward. That is an absolute must if we are to get the information that goes to the source of the problem. The retrofitting of buildings to make them suitable for housing asylum seekers also provides money-laundering opportunities for gangs who wish to spend cash derived from drug dealing, extortion and other types of crimes.

Where people without means can purchase buildings for millions of euro, that has to raise a red flag and that red flag should not be ignored. We know there have been newspaper articles about that and I could draw the Minister's attention to some of them myself. If we do not put time, energy and resources into prevention, it becomes a never-ending cycle of detection and investigations and an under-reporting of a really serious issue. It will be costly and time consuming anyway, but if we are to limit the damage to these human beings, prevention has to be where we put a huge amount of attention. We have to remember that Europe is not somewhere just out there, that it is here and that we need to take responsibility. I am quite concerned about what has been happening to date in terms of how loose it is.

Deputy Bríd Smith

This motion is a piece in a jigsaw. It does not really do anything on its own. It is part of a wider jigsaw and relates to the EU migration pact that probably will be voted through later today. We have quite a few problems with it. When the rhetoric is stripped away, what is going on here is the strengthening of fortress Europe and increasing the power of Frontex and others to keep migrants out of Europe. That is basically what it is about in giving power to agencies and claiming we are dealing with criminal gangs. We are giving huge power to agencies, where we exchange information and work with other agencies on passing files on, etc. One of the big problems we have with this is that this feeds into and leads into the vile growth of lies coming from the far right about black and brown people and the dangers they present to our society. This does not deliberately lean into that but ultimately it does. The European Union is leaning into this as well in the lead-up to the elections. It is pretty sick, and more so when we look at what we are talking about.

When we exchange information with other countries and Frontex and Europol exchange it onwards, they often exchange it with the countries of the Middle East and north Africa to which the European Union has given huge amounts of money, equipment, training and support, such as Libya, Egypt and Morocco, and where there is absolutely clear evidence of human rights abuses such as torture, rape, illegal detention, repeated killings and beatings and even slavery taking place, particularly in Libya. Sally Hayden, the author who won many prizes for her book My Fourth Time, We Drowned, has done serious research into this area and I do not think anybody would dispute her evidence and the stories she tells about the detention centres in Libya the EU funds and we inadvertently fund. We are agreeing to pass on information to these organisations that do not have just one serious security or police force. Libya is a state without a state. It is three states functioning within one country. It is extremely corrupt and much of the corruption is about facilitating the traffickers. It is about taking money from traffickers and facilitating them to proceed on their way, but more often it is about sending unfortunate migrants back into detention centres where that litany of rape, cruelty, killing and slavery continues. It is hugely important we get that right in our heads, and if we increase this to other so-called safe countries such as Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, etc., we are only repeating the same exercise.

This matters not because it is a kind way of dealing with people but because the litany of how migration has affected the globe is a truth that is with us and will stay with us. The truth is that 62.5 million of the people who are displaced across the globe are internally displaced within their own countries, such as in Sudan and South Sudan, 36 million people are refugees, and 43.3 million of the total number of migrants displaced both internally and externally are children.

If we are to deal with this issue by saying we will batten down the hatches and do like Trump did, we build an effective wall around Europe. This is what this piece in the jigsaw is. A fortress Europe is about doing a Trump on it and building a wall around Europe to make sure migrants do not get in. They will either drown in the Mediterranean Sea, as 29,000 have done, or they will be transported back into these so-called safe countries where we give information about them or where we facilitate torture, rape and slavery.

I will finish with a quote from Sally Hayden where she talks about what it is like to be a migrant because these issues are about humanity and human beings:

They arrived on the back of impossible choices of why they are about to go and who to bring with them. Sometimes bearing neither luggage nor documents. They are teachers, they are medics, engineers, factory workers and students. They are witnesses to unspeakable horror, rape, executions, bombings, humiliation and they know hunger. They have left occasionally and sometimes multiple times they have left everything in search of a life.

If we are to co-operate with pushing people back into that misery, then shame on us. That is why I say this is a piece of a jigsaw. It is not the whole nine yards but it is a piece in a very fundamentally cruel jigsaw.

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

Information released to Aontú following a parliamentary question shows that only three people have been convicted of human trafficking out of 1,000 cases that have come before the courts in the past decade. I have never seen a conviction rate as low as that in any other sector of crime in this country. It is incredibly poor and means we are not on top of this issue in this country.

We need to be clear about our definitions on this issue. Human trafficking is different from people smuggling. Human trafficking is the trade or exploitation of an individual for the another person's gain. I know from listening to the commentary on all sides of this that sometimes these definitions are confused. Trafficking does not always involve the crossing of borders and much trafficking actually takes place in a domestic setting. From examining court records I can see that the biggest form of human trafficking in Ireland is the sexual exploitation of children. There is, of course, labour exploitation, modern slavery and criminal exploitation, but the sexual exploitation of children is the commonest form of trafficking in Ireland at the moment.

The smuggling of persons is a different topic, and it is mentioned in this protocol. I have a number of concerns on that issue, such as the follow-up of gardaí in terms of the victims of smuggling. We had a shocking situation in Wexford recently where migrants arrived in a freezer container and were brought into State care and went missing.

When gardaí were asked where these individuals were, they said it was not their responsibility to follow up or investigate it. Whose responsibility is it to follow up with regard to people who are being smuggled into this country? It has to be somebody's responsibility. In that case, it seemed it was nobody's responsibility.

We sometimes see Irish children turning up in other jurisdictions as victims of child trafficking but why are these children not identified as they leave Ireland? We need better systems, education and awareness among staff at ports and airports in this regard. Legislation was recently passed in the House on the criminal exploitation of children. This is deeply concerning because that law omitted the victim status of the child and this could place Ireland in violation of the Council of Europe convention on human trafficking. Human trafficking attracts the maximum penalty of life imprisonment but the law that the Government passed before Christmas on the recruitment of children for crime imposes only five years imprisonment. This is far too lenient. I believe it leaves the State open to European Court of Human Rights rulings and, in addition, Ireland has been elevated to a tier 2 country in the international assessment of the US State Department. That is not good. Tier 2 watch list status is, I understand, one of the worst that has been awarded to any European country. The diluting of legislation, as was done before Christmas, does not demonstrate a robust and effective way of dealing with human trafficking and forced labour. The Bill signals that the crimes of trafficking of children or forced labour are considered less than they were previously.

The Criminal Justice (Engagement of Children in Criminal Activity) Bill was rammed through the Dáil before Christmas. Under that law, a child has to be guilty in order for the trafficker to be prosecuted. This makes the child a criminal rather than a victim in the process. I have serious questions about the way some Government agencies are dealing with children who are being exposed to trafficking. This is a very important issue. I have raised this constantly with the Minister, Deputy Roderic O'Gorman, and the Department of children. A few months ago, we saw an inexcusable and jaw-dropping scenario where unaccompanied minors or separated children ended up in tents on Mount Street or as homeless asylum seekers. These children had no parents to look after them and they should have been given a safe foster place or a residential placement. This is part of the protocol. Indeed, it would be considered a scandal if those children ended up in direct provision centres on their own, never mind homeless on the streets without parents. This left them incredibly exposed to trafficking and exploitation.

We then have the situation with the special emergency accommodation units. A parliamentary question from Aontú showed that Tusla has paid €93 million to companies operating its emergency placements since 2014. In letters to me, Tusla has admitted that these are unregulated placements, mostly in rented accommodation, with staffing from third-party providers. Some of these are cowboy companies operating out of a few hotel rooms with unvetted staff. It is horrendous that we are putting these children in harm's way. UCD has done a study which suggests that these children are being exposed to further exploitation. These locations should be sanctuaries for children who have been taken from horrendous situations but they are not. We are putting children into exposed situations, which does horrendous damage.

Deputy Thomas Pringle

This proposal seeks to strengthen laws regarding migrant smuggling while, at the same time, MEPs are today voting on the EU migration pact to reform asylum policies, which multiple NGOs have said will make it much harder for refugees to seek protection in Europe and which will force more refugees to seek other methods, such as smuggling. This is nonsensical and completely inhumane. We are forcing people into these dire situations and then punishing them for it. Official statistics show that most people who seek protection are fleeing persecution and violence. They will, of course, use any means possible to leave if it means leaving with their life.

The EU migration pact will have devastating implications for the right to international protection and it allows for abuses across Europe, including racial profiling and de facto detention. I am particularly concerned about the pact’s expansion of biometric data gathering from migrants. The pact, as well as this proposal, signify to me that the EU is completely abandoning its values of human dignity and human rights. The EU seems to have lost any sense of compassion or semblance of its initial aims and values, and is instead perpetuating a system of exclusion and oppression, forcing refugees into lives of uncertainty and fear, lives that many were already attempting to flee. Neither the pact nor the proposal seeks to stop the significant number of deaths at the EU’s external borders; they only seek to lock people, including many children, in border procedures with no obligation to take in any asylum seekers. The Irish Refugee Council has indicated its concern that the EU migration pact contains various devices and mechanisms for limiting access to the international protection process, as well as the suggestion of some form of detention or restriction on movement, which is of substantial concern. Amnesty International has stated that the pact will set back European asylum law for decades to come and that its likely outcome is a surge in suffering on every step of a person’s journey to seek asylum in the EU. This is what the European Parliament will vote for today and I am disappointed but, sadly, not surprised at the number of Irish MEPs backing this.

It is clear to me that this proposal on migration smuggling will also impact negatively on refugees and will only add to their suffering. Although I support the proposal’s intention to combat trafficking, especially given that Ireland is failing to meet minimum standards to combat trafficking, it does not seek to provide assistance to refugees and fails to recognise that refugees usually only turn to smuggling when there are no other alternatives available. The explanatory memorandum to the proposal states: “Migrant smuggling to and within the EU is reaching new heights, fuelled by increasing demand due to emerging and deepening crises, most notably economic recessions, environmental emergencies caused by climate change, as well as conflicts and demographic pressure in many third countries.” Yet, instead of tackling the actual issues, the EU has decided to target migrant smuggling, which is merely a result of these issues. This is not only incredibly cruel and inhumane but senseless. As long as these issues remain, migrant smuggling and mass migration will remain. We need to start tackling these issues or, at the very least, stop contributing to them. The uncomfortable truth is that all of us in Europe have contributed negatively to the climate crisis which has caused environmental emergencies and has resulted in the migration of people forced to leave their homes. We cannot continue contributing to this problem and then refuse to accept the consequences.

We need to stop putting all our resources into tackling migration and start focusing on tackling the actual causes of migration. Otherwise, migration will only continue to rise and EU migration policies will only continue to get worse. We need to approach this in a humane and compassionate way that assists countries that are experiencing recession, environmental disasters and conflict. This is where we should be focusing our peacekeeping activities as a neutral country. I have often said that Ireland has far more to offer in peacekeeping than we do in military might, and our strengths have always been in speaking out against injustice. This is an example of where we can actually use these strengths to make a real and impactful difference. Compromising our neutrality at Europe’s request is not the answer. Introducing a cruel migration policy at Europe’s demand is not the answer. We need to speak up and do what is right, not what Europe has decided is right for us.

Minister for Justice (Deputy Helen McEntee)

I thank Deputies for their contributions. Many topics were raised but specifically with regard to the regulation, the timing between St. Patrick's Day and Easter meant we were a little tight for time on this. I appreciate that it is always better to be able to come forward as soon as possible.

As I said at the end of my initial contribution, the overall objective of the regulation is to make sure we codify much of the work that is already happening across the EU in regard to human trafficking and people smuggling, and that we enhance the co-operation between An Garda Síochána and police services across the EU so we can support victims. This is about making sure that those who are victims of human trafficking are supported by identifying the gangs who are exploiting them and benefiting from their misery. As we have all said, many have died at sea and some have lost their lives when arriving here in containers, and some of those trafficked who are now in prostitution or forced labour are in dire situations. This is about protecting them and getting to the source of those who are involved in inflicting this misery.

More broadly, we have to do more when it comes to human trafficking. According to the figures referred to by Deputy Tóibín, the 1,000 cases predominantly refer to the sexual exploitation of a child, which is also an offence under the human trafficking Act but is not directly related to human trafficking. There have been three prosecutions in one case of those responsible for human trafficking, and that was just in 2021. While it is not enough, it is a start and we need to make sure we build on that progress.

One of the biggest challenges we have is that people have not come forward in the past.

That is because the only route they can go is through An Garda Síochána. Many people do not trust the police in their own jurisdiction, so they do not come forward here because they do not think they will be helped. They worry about their status and believe that without a visa or without a valid permit to be here, they may be deported. We are developing a new human trafficking strategy with An Garda Síochána and many of the NGOs and organisations working in the space. By the end of this term, we will also have enacted the sexual offences in human trafficking legislation which will put on a statutory footing a new route for people to be able to come forward. It will not just be the responsibility of An Garda Síochána. The Departments of Health and Social Protection will also be involved as well as the NGOs and agencies which support and work with vulnerable victims.

I want to stress that anyone who does not have a valid visa or permit who comes forward will not be penalised or criminalised. We will work with them to support them and make sure they get the assistance they need. It is also about raising awareness in terms of human trafficking. I do not think it is something that Irish people think about or certainly they have not done so in the past. There are campaigns going on working with the likes of the International Organisation for Migration and others. It means working with airlines, freight and transport companies and our ports. The hospitality industry is an area where people may be particularly vulnerable. Our security services are also important in looking at any particular situation or organisation where there might be an increased risk of people being trafficked.

More broadly, we have National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. A huge amount of work is done by many people to try to highlight this as an issue. I fully appreciate that we need to do more. The new legislation and the new strategy will help in continuing to raise awareness. We cannot do this on our own.

Many people have touched on the issue of the migration pact. While this is separate, it is obviously working hand in hand. As far as I am concerned, there is nothing in the migration pact that will not benefit Ireland. This is not about keeping people out; it is about making sure that those who genuinely need our help and support get it. It is about quicker processing. If those in need of help get a quick decision, they will get access to help much more quickly. Economic migrants who genuinely do not need our help should be going through legal pathways. If they are given a negative decision, they should be returned home. Where they have support in other member states or where international protection has already been granted, it will ensure they can be returned more easily even though there may be a potential risk. In this regard, we are talking about a small fraction of people and this should be identified at an early stage. Also, where there needs to be solidarity, we could potentially benefit from that as well. There is nothing in this pact that does not benefit Ireland. I appreciate that we need to be working with colleagues. It will come before the Houses before there is any agreement on it.

Separate to the justice committee, where it will be discussed and debated in the next two weeks, a briefing will be available to Deputies to allow them to understand the mechanics and the detail of it. This will ensure they are not coming into the House without having that level of understanding. I thank colleagues for their support. It is really important, where possible, that we opt in to these types of measures. We are different from other member states that automatically have to take part in them. We need to show that we are willing to work with our European counterparts to tackle such an awful crime and support those who are its victims.

Question put and agreed to.