TD Tóibín: Govt not bothered to track figure of trafficked migrants

Aontú Leader and TD Peadar Tóibín has today called on the government to take seriously the threat to life that exists in the trafficking of migrants into Ireland. His comments come in the aftermath of the discovery of 14 migrants who were found in a container in Rosslare Harbour in Wexford yesterday evening.

Expressing gratitude that those found were not seriously injured or killed in the dangerous venture, Mr Tóibín stressed that many others who have made the perilous journey from their lands to more secure shores have not always been as fortunate as the 14 who were rescued last night.

He stated:“A humanitarian disaster was narrowly averted when 2 children and 12 adult migrants managed to cut a hole in the refrigerated container and alerted Gardaí that they were trapped. Thank God that these lives were saved. Recent history is littered with heart breaking tragedies where large numbers of migrants were not so lucky”.

Criticising government for what he perceives is a lack of collective concern or prioritisation shown in response to migrants being trafficked into the state, Mr Tóibín insisted that government regulation of systems that presently deal with international protection need to be more robust and attentive of the unfolding situation. “The Irish Government is extremely lax,” he said.“The Government is simply not ensuring that their International Protection system is robust. An answer to a parliamentary question given to me by the Minister for Justice Helen McEntee stated that 76% of people who migrated to Ireland last year did not register their asylum application at a port or an airport.

“Up until September last year 6,821 migrants registered at the International Protection Office, while only 2,056 migrants registered their application for asylum at airports or ports. When I asked the Minister what route had the IPO Office applicants taken, she stated, ”Information on how a person enters the country when not through a designated port, including by travelling over the land border, is not recorded,” he said.

Mr Tóibín said that the found it incredible that Minister McEntee doesn’t appear to actively seek questions in relation to the numbers of migrants entering the state and the means they enter by. “This is incredible. The Minister does not know how the vast majority of migrants are now coming to Ireland because the Minister’s policy is, not to ask the vast majority of people how they are coming to Ireland. How can any administration manage this situation if they don’t know what’s happening”. The government could change the law and direct that all migrants register their applications at their point of entry”.

Mr Tóibín, alluding to Ireland’s undesirable position on a United States government watchlist monitoring human trafficking, said that Ireland must adopt a stricter approach to human trafficking and those who facilitate it and this starts with a more proactive response from our judiciary and a commitment to prosecute those who profit from the industry.

“Ireland is on a United States government watchlist country in terms of human trafficking. According to the US State Department analysis Ireland is a ‘Tier 2 country’ in terms of human trafficking,” he said. The State Department states ‘the Government of Ireland does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking’.

“Indeed an answer to another Aontú Parliamentary Question to Aontú has shown that just three people have been convicted in the district courts for human trafficking in the past 10 years, despite more than 1,000 cases coming before them. I have never seen a worse conviction rate in any other area of serious crime. The government are not taking it seriously”. From the border to the child protection services this government’s management of the situation is a mess”.