The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) has urged the Government to be more proactive in combating child trafficking following a BBC investigation which suggested Ireland is being used as a transit country to the UK by Bulgarian traffickers.
ISPCC assistant director of services Caroline O'Sullivan said the response by the Irish authorities to the problem is "way behind" other jurisdictions.
"In Holland, for example, when a trafficked or unaccompanied child is identified they have a whole range of services for them including legal, medical and accommodation. They also have one-to-one contact with people who are on hand to advise the children exactly what is happening."
The Irish Government was being reactive to the issue at a time when positive action was needed. Multidisciplinary teams should be established at all ports and airports to spot for the signs that a child is being trafficked and provide the necessary services for them.
Ms O'Sullivan said any organisation working in the area of child welfare would not have been surprised by the findings of the BBC's investigation. Broadcast on Thursday night, the investigation featured a secretly recorded clip of a Bulgarian trafficker saying his favoured route to smuggle children for sale to the UK was via Rosslare, Co Wexford.
A Garda spokesman said while the allegations contained in the programme were being considered, there was no evidence to suggest they were true. The Garda National Immigration Bureau had members at all ports of entry and the force was constantly liaising with UK anti-trafficking police operations.
The Department of Justice said there was no evidence of a "substantial human trafficking problem" in Ireland. However, a spokeswoman said a new Bill was currently being drafted which could be used to combat any cases that emerged.
The Bill will create new specific offences of trafficking people into, through or out of Ireland for the purposes of sexual exploitation, labour exploitation or removal of organs.
Senior Garda sources have told The Irish Timesthat no evidence had emerged in the Republic to suggest Ireland was being used as part of an organised trafficking route involving Bulgarian children.
"You'd have to be naive to think children had not been trafficked through Ireland. But we've no evidence indicating there is an ongoing problem involving Bulgarians."
Another informed source said Ireland was most often used as a transit country by adult Mauritians and Brazilians looking to enter the UK illegally.
Many of these illegal immigrants believed UK immigration controls were most lax at ports which received ferries from Ireland because of the common travel area between Ireland and the UK.
Simon Coveney TD (FG) said the BBC's investigation had proved that Ireland was a "soft touch" for international crime gangs hoping to smuggle children into the UK.
The Cork South Central deputy said the case was similar to a recent €108 million drugs find off Dunlough Bay in Cork in that it demonstrated how gangs were using Ireland as a transit country for smuggling.
He said over 100,000 people were smuggled across EU borders every year, often for the purposes of sexual exploitation.
"It is about time Ireland responded by updating legislation and by increasing the resources available to both Customs and the Garda, particularly in ports and airports."
