Trafficking in human beings is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world. Business is booming for the criminals who sell human lives into forced slavery; be it for labour, criminal or sexual exploitation or other inhumane purposes. This industry profits from the exploitation of vulnerable people and deprives them of their most basic human rights. The UN Human Rights Council has warned of a significant increase in child victims of trafficking.
In Ireland, child victims of trafficking are falling through the cracks. The UN reports that children make up almost four in 10 victims of trafficking worldwide, but the true number caught up in the illegal practice is likely to be much higher. There is no reason to believe that Ireland is somehow magically exempt from these statistics.
Ireland’s response to human trafficking is being evaluated by the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (Greta). The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission acts as Ireland’s national rapporteur on Human Trafficking, and in our submissions to that review, we are saying that while there are some signs of progress, Ireland’s overall response to this most egregious human rights violation remains inadequate, especially for the most vulnerable victims of trafficking.
In particular, Ireland continues to struggle with the identification, support and protection of child victims of trafficking. The numbers are telling. Not a single child victim of trafficking was identified in 2020 or 2021. In 2022 and 2023, that number crept up to five per year. In 2024, it doubled to 10. While the problem is now beginning to be recognised, these low numbers of detected cases, especially when compared with neighbouring jurisdictions, beg the question: how many more children are being missed?
The current system of anti-trafficking measures and services contributes to this underreporting by failing to apply a truly child-centred approach. The principle of the best interest of the child, which should be the cornerstone of all child protection work, is still not explicitly embedded in our response to trafficking, with no child-specific national referral mechanism. The absence of a comprehensive, child-specific identification process, including proper age-assessment protocols, means too many children are treated as adults, and their unique vulnerabilities ignored.
This is especially dangerous for separated, unaccompanied and age-disputed minors, who are among the most at-risk groups in the State’s care. The commission has deep concerns about how these children are assessed and accommodated.
When Tusla, Ireland’s Child and Family Agency, deems a young person ineligible for services, that decision often becomes the de-facto determinative that they are treated as an adult. These young people are then processed through the asylum system as adults, often housed in unsuitable accommodation centres, sometimes privately run and lacking the basic safeguards that a child should be entitled to.
Even where an unaccompanied child is accepted as a minor by Tusla, they are often not taken into care and instead they are provided with accommodation only, with no appointed guardian and very little support. Just think about that for a moment. To be a child who has already been a victim of appalling crimes, alone in a foreign country, with no family, no knowledge of the local language or culture and no person ensuring you are kept safe and well.
Children who are already vulnerable – and as a result of being trafficked may have no documents – are being exposed to further harm because the systems built to protect them are rigid, under-resourced and not fit for purpose. Adequate funding to Tusla is needed from the Department of Children and the Department of Public Expenditure to ensure the Agency is empowered and enabled to provide the required protection and support to these vulnerable children.
The domestic implementation of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum over the next year, if not carefully managed, risks making this already unacceptable situation worse. Fast-tracked asylum procedures and border screenings, especially when carried out without sufficient safeguards, could mean victims of trafficking are processed, detained or deported before they are ever identified as victims. Detention is never appropriate for a trafficking victim, least of all for a child.
In our submission to Greta, we recognise that the State has taken some important steps in the right direction. Recent legislative reforms, including the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking) Act 2024 and the establishment of a national referral mechanism (NRM) for victims of trafficking – the first of its kind in Europe, aims to better streamline how victims are identified and supported. The presumption of minority in the law is welcomed. This means that, unless an age estimation assessment proves otherwise, a person is presumed to be under 18 years old. And the establishment of Rosa’s Place, the State’s first gender-specific trafficking shelter, is positive (although its capacity cannot yet meet demand). This is something Ihrec has long called for, marking a long-overdue commitment to survivor-centred care. But these developments, while welcome, are not enough.
Because the real test is in how Ireland implements change, not just in law but in practice. Any benefits of the new law will not be felt until the promised new system for referral is operational. That means finalising and publishing clear, consultative and rights-based operational guidelines for the national referral mechanism. It means ensuring that all agencies, from the International Protection Office to Tusla, apply a consistent, transparent and child-focused approach to age assessment. And it means significantly expanding specialist accommodation options and supports, beyond the narrow confines of Rosa’s Place.
The commission’s message to Greta, and to the Irish public, is clear: child victims of trafficking are among the most vulnerable people in our society. They are not statistics. They are not administrative challenges. They are children, and they deserve a system that sees them, protects them and gives them a chance to recover and rebuild.
Ireland has committed, through its laws and its international obligations, to protect these children. Now it must deliver.
Liam Herrick is the chief commissioner at the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. The commission is Ireland’s national rapporteur on trafficking of human beings