New Human Trafficking Law Signed By Irish President McAleese

Making the announcement the Minister said "We now have a comprehensive, up to date set of criminal offences which will ensure that human traffickers will find Ireland a very unwelcoming country to pursue their evil trade."

The Act creates separate offences of trafficking in children for the purpose of their labour exploitation or the removal of their organs, trafficking in children for the purpose of their sexual exploitation and trafficking in adults for the purposes of their sexual or labour exploitation or the removal of their organs.

It also makes it an offence to sell or offer for sale or to purchase or offer to purchase any person, adult or child, for any purpose.

In drawing attention to this offence, the Minister added, "trafficking is often described as modern day slavery, a particular feature of which is traffickers selling very vulnerable trafficked persons to other unscrupulous persons who, having made money from the exploitation of the unfortunate trafficked persons, sell them on to others in a never ending spiral of misery for and exploitation of the trafficked persons."

He also emphasised the seriousness of the offences created in the Act when he said that "trafficking in human beings or selling or purchasing human beings are among the most serious offences that can be committed against the person and this is reflected in the maximum penalty of life imprisonment that can be imposed on conviction."

The Minister also drew particular attention to a provision under which it will be an offence to solicit or importune a trafficked person for the purpose of prostitution, concluding that, "If there was no demand for the sexual services of trafficked persons," the Minister stated, "the traffickers would be put out of business overnight."