Report Finds Irish Born Children 'Trafficked In State'

A new report on child trafficking in Ireland published on Thursday morning has found that Irish-born children are among those trafficked within the country.

The report, Safe Care for Trafficked Children in Ireland: Developing a Protective Environment, found child trafficking was not just confined to migrant children.

“Irish children have been trafficked within the country for exploitive and criminal purposes,” it said.

Commissioned by the Children’s Rights Alliance and conducted by University College Cork, the report examines the State response to child trafficking, which involves the movement of children, often through deception and coercion, for exploitation.

It found a Health Service Executive decision taken in 2010 to stop housing unaccompanied migrant children in hostels had “significantly reduced the number of children going missing and the risk of trafficking”.

Before 2010, a significant number of these children had disappeared and may have been victims of trafficking.

Speaking at the publication of the report this morning, Tanya Ward, chief executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance, said much work would be needed to “truly tackle child trafficking head-on”.

"With numbers of Irish children trafficked within the country growing, and child trafficking cases found in Sligo, Kilkenny and Wexford, this is not only a problem for Dublin,” she said.

Adding: “While the Government’s Anti-Human Trafficking Unit is leading the way in targeting child trafficking, we must make sure that we don’t become a soft touch for child traffickers who prey on vulnerable children.”

(H)