Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697750453482.pdf (Ireland)
Opening Statement on behalf of Professor Michael Breen, Professor Michael Healy and Dr Amy Healy, Mary Immaculate College.

Chair and Members of the Joint Committee on Justice, We wish to express our thanks to the committee for the invitation to appear before it – we see this as an endorsement of the necessity of having high quality data in terms of both the formation public policy and the creation of appropriate legislative frameworks, especially so in the area of hidden criminality.
Our involvement with human trafficking arises from the involvement of the College with the Santa Marta Group, an initiative of Pope Francis to tackle global human trafficking through cooperation of various elements of civil society by way of information exchange and the identification of best practice.
A common theme among the reports from various countries at the last Santa Marta meeting in 2019 was the realisation that the hidden nature of human trafficking means that we are dealing with an unquantified phenomenon, and that led ultimately to the research we undertook on the island of Ireland culminating in the HTEPII report.

In our report we identified 132 probable and possible victims of trafficking who were unknown to the authorities, an increase of the 38% on the official figure.
It is important to stress that these 132 victims represent only a portion of the ‘dark figure’ of human trafficking, i.e., those victims whose presence is not known to the authorities.

Given the limited timeframe and resources of the HTEPII project, we consider it likely that ongoing research will uncover more hidden victims.
Given that addressing provision of services to victims of trafficking depends on the availability of reliable, high-quality data documenting the scale and scope of this crime, we believe it critical that all data on human trafficking, including data on potential victims of trafficking outside of the NRM, must be collected, collated, and reported within a dynamic database on a rolling basis and consolidated into annual reports which would be laid before the respective legislative bodies in this jurisdiction.
There are three distinct parts to this proposal: 1.

This database should include all information arising from persons who come into contact with the authorities on suspicion of having been trafficked even if they choose not to go into the NRM, such that all screening data is available for subsequent analysis.

2.

Mechanisms to resource non-statutory organisations (i.e., funding, personnel, opportunity) to consolidate and register the data they assemble on potential trafficking cases must be put in place.
3.

Given the interplay between the two jurisdictions on the Island of Ireland in respective of human trafficking, consideration should be given to the creation of a shared database for use by all relevant parties.

In respect of victims we believe that stronger efforts must be made to address the fears and concerns of the many potential victims of trafficking who do not come forward to the authorities.
We note that both GRETA and the TIP reports are quite specific about inadequacies of the current system in this respect.

Working with victims would be greatly enhanced by the provision of quality training for all individuals who come in direct contact with trafficking victims.
As we put it in the HTEPII report, a strategy should be developed for the creation and roll-out of expert, bespoke education and training for all individuals and organisations involved in the identification, management and support of victims and potential victims of trafficking, including ancillary services, the courts, frontline medical services and others working in this field.

In particular this training must be gender-appropriate and sensitive to individual circumstances and cultural contexts.
Finally, as we noted in both the HTEPII report and in our submission to this committee, a further area for research involves better understanding of the venues, industries and practices that allow trafficking to develop or actually support or permit its existence in Ireland.
We believe that such additional research may be of assistance in prosecuting suspected offenders of both sex and labour trafficking, in better training of relevant personnel, in increasing victim identification, and in proposing an improved referral mechanism in coordination with various official and unofficial actors.
Given the critical role that support organisations may play as a source of information about trafficking beyond the official records, it is anticipated that this work is worthy of a significant investment of time and energy across the Island of Ireland but as of now, this work remains outstanding.